Carnegie Council Podcasts

If global interconnections begin to fray in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what happens to the ethical underpinnings of international relations? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev and Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal discuss this important question and much more as solidarity begins to weaken among European Union and NATO states.

In this wide-ranging talk, Future of Privacy Forum's Brenda Leong discusses the commercial uses of facial recognition technology, concerns about privacy and bias, how it's being utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some tough questions about government surveillance. What's the future of facial recognition? How can we use this technology ethically? 

Jameson Spivack, policy associate at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology, discusses some of the most pressing policy issues when it comes to facial recognition technology in the United States and the ongoing pandemic. Why is Maryland's system so invasive? What are other states and cities doing? And, when it comes to surveillance and COVID-19, where's the line between privacy and security?

Despite being close to the initial epicenter of the virus, Taiwan was able to contain its COVID-19 outbreak earlier in 2020. Audrey Tang, Taiwan's digital minister, explains how her office helped in this effort by fighting disinformation with some innovative ideas. What can countries like the U.S. or Italy learn from Taiwan in the battle against this pandemic?

With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting all aspects of daily life around the world, what will be the effect on international relations? Will it increase cooperation among nations, or will it lead to more conflict and competition? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev and host Alex Woodson discuss these scenarios and also touch on how the virus has affected the Democratic primary, in which Joe Biden now has a commanding lead.

On February 29, the United States and the Taliban reached an agreement that could potentially end the longest-running war in American history. Jonathan Cristol, author of "The United States and the Taliban before and after 9/11," discusses the specifics of the deal, the role of the Afghan government, women's rights, and how this all fits into the worldview of the Trump administration.

Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev looks at the foreign policy discussions after Super Tuesday, with only Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders left with realistic chances at the Democratic nomination. When it comes to the U.S. role in the world, what are the big differences between these two candidates? Is Biden's "restorationist" agenda risky? And looking ahead to a post-Trump future, how have relationships changed between the U.S. and its allies?

Are there norms when it comes to cybersecurity? How should governments regulate this emerging domain? What's the role of the private sector? SIPA's Jason Healey discusses all this and more with cybersecurity analyst Alicia Fawcett. Plus, he explains some of the risks associated with cyberattacks and why, so far, they haven't escalated into anything "kinetic."

UC Berkley's Professor Stuart J. Russell discusses the near- and far-future of artificial intelligence, including self-driving cars, killer robots, governance, and why he's worried that AI might destroy the world. How can scientists reconfigure AI systems so that humans will always be in control? How can we govern this emerging technology across borders? What can be done if autonomous weapons are deployed in 2020?

With record-breaking winter warmth in Europe, catastrophic fires in Australia, and deadly flooding in Indonesia, we are deep into a climate crisis. In this wide-ranging talk, Janos Paztor, executive director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G), talks about his organization's work on the governance of emerging technologies that intentionally seek to change the Earth's climate system, including carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification.