One Decision

Leading Artificial Intelligence thinker and researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky has shaped much of the development of AI technology that is radically changing our lives - but now he is sounding the alarm along with other experts and scientists who feel AI will eventually lead to humankind's demise. But while many of his colleagues and peers disagree, this debate is mainly being fought in small circles, with a lot of jargon - while the rest of us are left scratching our heads. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane spoke to Yudkowsky for clarity on the issue and to find out some of the worst-case scenarios of what could be coming our way in the future. Plus, Julia and former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove discuss how seriously we should take Yudkowsky's call for action - and why our resident spymaster is so skeptical about this apocalyptic warning.

After a major national security investigation into Moscow’s espionage efforts, Great Britain unmasked an alleged Russian spy ring. Three Bulgarian nationals suspected of working for Russian security services were charged with possessing numerous forged identification documents. On this week’s bonus episode, Julia Macfarlane asks her co-host and former MI6 Chief, Sir Richard Dearlove about how the alleged spies likely got caught and speculation the trio may have been sleeper agents.

The newly formed Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party of China in the United States House of Representatives is tasked with analyzing the multifaceted strategic threats coming from Beijing and increasing the American government's efforts to safeguard the homeland from balloons, hacks, and other aggressive acts. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), who co-leads the Congressional committee sits down with One Decision to reveal the ways in which legislators in Washington have found President Xi Jinping is destabilizing the economic, political, and geo-strategic interests of the United States and its allies, and what the West is and should be doing about it.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, United States national security officials discovered that Chinese military hackers had breached the classified defense network of one of its most important security allies—Japan. In this week's bonus episode, Brett Bruen, the former Director of Global Engagement in President Obama’s White House speaks with The Washington Post's national security reporter Ellen Nakashima about her exclusive scoop documenting the hack, why it took Tokyo years to plug the network gaps, and what the Biden administration did behind-the-scenes to help Japan secure its cyber defenses. 

Afghanistan is on the verge of a collapse with the majority of the 40 million Afghans there living in poverty ruled over by the Taliban—hardline militants imposing the strictest interpretations of Sharia law. One Decision’s Julia Macfarlane and Sir Richard Dearlove sit down with British Conservative Party politician Tobias Ellwood who serves as the Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee to discuss his recent trip to Kabul. Ellwood details the dismal conditions he saw on the ground and that Afghanistan, despite the Taliban, needs our help and is advocating for global reengagement and the reopening of the British Embassy.

Last week’s coup in Niger is the latest in a string of recent military takeovers in Africa—seemingly the final domino to fall in a region plagued by instability and the battle between Russia and the West for influence in the Sahel. Coup leaders are now facing an ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum or face the consequences including possible military intervention. On this week’s bonus episode, Julia Macfarlane asks her co-host Sir Richard Dearlove what he’s hearing from the French intelligence community about what’s behind the rebellion and if there’s any truth to reports about the Kremlin’s involvement.

As Ukraine’s counteroffensive meets stiff Russian resistance, Europe and the United States are being ravaged by climate change this summer ahead of the COP28 climate summit being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, one of the biggest energy producers in the world. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and longtime climate champion in Congress has joined other United States and European Union lawmakers in calling for oil executive Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber to step down from leading the summit after backlash from activists over the conflict of interest. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane sat down with Senator Whitehouse to discuss the war in Ukraine and the growing climate crisis. Both require that the West, led by the United States, find global solidarity and agreement at a time of great power rivalries and difficult domestic challenges. Plus, Sir Richard Dearlove, the former Chief of Britain's secret intelligence service joins Julia for an analysis of the conversation.

Filmmaker Mimi Chakarova sits down with One Decision's Julia Macfarlane to discuss what has changed in the fight against human trafficking and slavery since her groundbreaking film that shined a light on vulnerable women from Eastern Europe who were manipulated and tricked into selling their bodies, trapped in a life of slavery. From Turkey to the Middle East to Western Europe, she chronicled the lives of women who managed to escape, but also revealed the men and women who worked to uphold the criminal structures that exploited them - even police officers. As waves of refugees flood Europe from Ukraine, Mimi warns that there are similar conditions today where people fleeing war are at risk of the same dangers as the women who left the Iron Curtain to seek better lives. And Sir Richard Dearlove gives the context of Eastern Europe's political progress since the fall of the Soviet Union, and why some states are more vulnerable to corruption and organized crime.

Protests have picked up in Israel this week as the Knesset takes up the controversial legislation proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that critics say would compromise the integrity and independence of Israel’s judicial system. If passed, the measure would eliminate the so-called "reasonableness clause" and would permit the judiciary to put curbs on government decisions granting Netanyahu and his coalition unfettered powers. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane speaks to journalist Noga Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem for an update on what's happening on the ground and the state of US-Israeli relations after President Joe Biden criticized the judicial overhaul plan.

After multiple extensions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is set to retire at the end of his term in October, but speculation continues over who will head the world's most powerful alliance. Among the contenders is Estonia’s Kersti Kaljulaid who served from 2016-2021 as the first female president of the Baltic high-tech nation that shares a border with Russia. A leader from NATO's eastern flank could send a strong message to Putin about the direction of travel for European security priorities. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane sat down with President Kaljulaid to talk about her recent trip to Kyiv and meetings with senior government officials about how Europe can continue to support the war effort. They also discussed plans for the Baltic states to decouple from the Russian power grid and reports she's being considered to become NATO’s first female chief.