I write about AI and Geopolitics
On Hinton, Containment, and the Loss of Leverage I. The Claim, and Why It Misses In October 2026, Geoffrey Hinton told The Telegraph that AI has become conscious. “AI has just as much subjective experience as we do,” he said, citing a paper showing that models change behavior when they believe they are being tested. … Read more
The deep ocean floor holds vast deposits of polymetallic nodules — potato-sized mineral concretions rich in nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese — scattered across abyssal plains, and concentrated particularly in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a deep-sea region of the Pacific lying between Hawaii and Mexico. These minerals are inputs for electric vehicle batteries, defense technologies, … Read more
I’ve been watching the current buildout of UHVDC—the ultra-high-voltage lines designed to move massive amounts of electricity across continents—and AI data centers, and I keep coming back to a couple of questions: Are these two things building a virtuous cycle that pays for the grid of the future? Or are they locking us into a … Read more
I grew up with the phrase “changing tack.” It’s an old sailing term. You change tack when you need to turn the boat, catch the wind differently, or avoid something in the water. In everyday life, it means you shift your strategy while keeping the same destination. You accept what you can’t control, stay flexible, … Read more
Here’s what I’m wrestling with—and why it matters beyond AI policy circles: In early July 2026, I asked thirteen frontier AI models two structured questions. The first was simple: is the world prepared for artificial general intelligence (systems that could match or surpass humans across many tasks) across six dimensions—technical infrastructure, regulation, safety and alignment … Read more