On November 10, CNAS hosted a panel on recent advances in frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models and their potential to transform cyber offense and defense alike.

Featuring the new report, Tipping the Scales: Emerging AI Capabilities and the Cyber Offense-Defense Balance, CNAS Technology and National Security Program expert Caleb Withers examines how capable today’s AI systems are at cyber-relevant tasks, which emerging capabilities matter most, and what defenders, policymakers, and industry should do to prepare. The discussion drew on those insights to cover a range of topics from recent advances in frontier AI intelligence models to the attacker-defender imbalance in cybersecurity operations, and more.

The panel featured:

• Moderator Derek B. Johnson, journalist, CyberScoop
• Caleb Withers, Fellow, Center for a New American Security
• Andrew Lohn, Senior Fellow, Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology
• Chris Rohlf, Security Engineer, Meta

To learn more about upcoming events at CNAS, head to cnas.org/events.

On October 23, CNAS hosted a panel on the U.S. defense budget and the Department of Defense’s alignment of resources to strategy.

Featuring our new report, Stuck in the Cul de Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence, CNAS Defense Program experts Dr. Carlton Haelig and Philip Sheers examine the gaps between the Department of Defense’s strategic priorities and its resource allocation and identify a wide range of challenges and opportunities the Pentagon faces in transitioning its key modernization initiatives to the field. This discussion drew on those insights to cover a range of topics from creating and maintaining a next-generation force, the impacts of a government shutdown on defense preparedness, and more.

The panel featured:

• Moderator Philip Sheers, Research Associate, Defense Program Center for a New American Security
• The Honorable Susanna V. Blume, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Defense Program, Center for a New American Security
• Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
• Dr. Carlton Haelig, Fellow, Defense Program, Center for a New American Security

To learn more about upcoming events at CNAS, head to cnas.org/events.

On Wednesday, October 15, CNAS hosted a live, virtual event​ on Countering China's Digital Silk Road featuring former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s flagship initiative to strengthen its global ties and influence through technology. A decade after its launch, the DSR has become more vital to Beijing than ever as technology has moved to the center of its global ambitions. Since the DSR's inception, Beijing has signed bilateral technology agreements with over 80 countries, and Chinese tech exports have increased nearly 10-fold in the past three years alone.

This CNAS event featured a fireside chat between former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and CNAS Senior Fellow Vivek Chilukuri, followed by an expert panel that examined the DSR's evolution and effectiveness to date, U.S. and allied efforts to counter it, and key domains of U.S.-China tech competition in emerging markets. The panel featured:

• Moderator James Palmer, Deputy Editor at Foreign Policy and author of FP's weekly China Brief newsletter
• Jonathan Hillman, Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics, Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Digital Silk Road: China’s Quest to Wire the World
• Ruth Berry, Senior Director and Head of Policy, NVIDIA Government Affairs
• Ruby Scanlon, Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security

To learn more about upcoming events at CNAS, head to cnas.org/events.