Ep 154: Jacob Helberg on Pax Silica & the New Global Order in the AI Age

About this episode

Jacob Helberg discusses the U.S. strategy for securing supply chains and competing in the AI era.

Jacob Helberg is leading the State Department's efforts to secure critical supply chains and win the global AI race. How is the U.S. shifting from dependency on China to building new partnerships around energy, minerals, and infrastructure? Which economies will grow fastest in the AI era? Who will be left behind? And how will this impact geopolitics? We discuss these timely topics with Jacob, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. A tech policy veteran who worked at Google and Palantir before serving on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Jacob was confirmed last fall to help execute the administration’s economic statecraft agenda. He's the author of " The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power ."We begin our conversation with Jacob’s mission at the State Department and the launch of Pax Silica: a new US-led economic security coalition to secure supply chains and help America dominate in AI innovation. We dive into Jacob's recent deal in the Philippines to build an AI-native industrial hub, and explore the contrast with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Next, Jacob makes the bull case for AI drawing on…

People in this episode

Host: Joe Lonsdale

Guest: Jacob Helberg

Topics covered

• AI
• geopolitics
• economic security
• supply chains
• technology policy

Keywords

• AI race
• economic statecraft
• supply chains
• geopolitics
• Pax Silica

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: State Department, Google, Palantir, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Pax Silica, Belt and Road Initiative

Books & works: The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power

Places: Philippines

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