The AI Power Podcast

Gregory C. Allen

Understand everything that's going on in AI Policy and how AI impacts the world. Hosted by Gregory C. Allen.If you work in AI policy — or you're just fascinated by it — this is the podcast for you. Every week, The AI Power Podcast unpacks the developments that actually mattered: AI regulation, safety, economic policy, US–China competition, semiconductor export controls, and national security. Think of it as drinks after work with the smart friend who tells you what's really going on, and what might actually work, in plain English. Plus interview episodes — long-form conversations with the policymakers, builders, executives, and analysts shaping artificial intelligence and the global power competition built around it.

  1. 7h ago

    The 2026 Midterm Elections and the Future of American AI Policy

    Gregory Allen and Adam Goodwin break down Tuesday’s midterm results and the impact AI had on the outcome. They discuss how the albatross of data centers cost Republican candidates with voters, how Democrats capitalized on these concerns, and what to expect for the industry moving forward. Then, Greg and Adam preview Democrats’ likely legislation agenda towards AI and outline potential commonsense AI regulation for Congress to pass. Finally, Greg discusses breaking new DNA synthesis regulations from the White House that help address the risk at the intersection of AI and biosecurity. Chapters: 00:00 – 5:04: Greg and Adam react to the the Democratic sweep in Tuesday’s midterm 5:04 -14:08: How much did AI matter in this election? What did voters think about AI and data centers? 14:08 - 26:40: How voter referendums on data centers will impact data center construction 26:40 - 35:05: How AI concerns and AI risk impacted Senate, House, and Governor races across the country  35:05 - 41:35: Previewing the AI issues Democrats hope to tackle in the new Congress 41:35 - 48:51 Could Congress, and the White House, find their way towards commonsense AI regulation? 48:51 - 54:14: The White House releases regulations to reduce AI misuse and biological risk in DNA synthesis Director Kratsios’ Announcement of the National Policy for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening: https://x.com/mkratsios47/status/2118365268342652934 The Information on Nvidia’s Influence over AI policy in Washington: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/nvidia-uses-soft-power-influence-customers-shape-policy

  2. Oct 30

    Nvidia CEO hangs out with Chinese spy? + China's new AI Export Controls + The AI/cyber month from hell + AI in the midterm elections

    Jensen Huang is targeted by a Chinese spy, China adopts AI export controls, and AI’s impact on the midterms Episode description Adam Goodwin and Gregory Allen examine a shocking New York Times story that Jensen Huang was targeted by Chinese intelligence via the CEO of a partner company, and break down the litany of red flags surrounding diversion efforts to get Nvidia chips into China over the last few years. Then, Adam and Greg break down China’s new AI export controls regime, how it bears a striking resemblance to the Biden era Diffusion Rule, and what strategic objectives Beijing is pursuing by employing this playbook. Lastly, Greg recounts the PHP vulnerability and a Black October that saw record numbers of vulnerabilities found, and the episode finishes with an assessment of how voters feel about AI and its buildout heading into the midterms.  Chapters: 00:00 – 18:49: Jensen Huang is targeted by a Chinese spy, Nvidia insists chip diversion isn’t happening despite examples to the contrary 18:49 -35:37: China’s new AI export controls assert authority over the flow of Chinese AI tech 35:37 - 54:24: Black October saw a seminal moment in AI cybersecurity risk, the PHP software vulnerability, and lessons from Anthropic’s bug bounty program 54:24 - 1:02:15: The impact of AI on voters’ opinions going into the midterms Mackenzie Hawkins’ Bloomberg piece from 2025 mentioned by Greg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-12-22/nvidia-partner-megaspeed-draws-china-chip-smuggling-concerns-in-us ChinaTalk’s breakdown of Chinese AI export controls: https://www.chinatalk.media/p/mofcoms-new-ai-rules

  3. Oct 19

    How China Got 340 DUVi Lithography Machines and Why We Should Stop Selling Them with Saif Khan and Nick Brown

    Saif Khan, founding director of the Center for Technology and Statecraft (CTS), and Nick Brown, CTS co-founder and senior fellow, join Gregory C. Allen to unpack their landmark 100+ page report, DUV Immersion Lithography: The Foundation of the US AI Advantage: Closing Gaps in Export Controls to China. Their central finding is that EUV gets the headlines, but the older immersion DUV machines are what China actually uses to make AI chips. China’s stockpile has grown from roughly 50–100 immersion tools in October 2022 to around 340 today. It imported about 90 a year in 2024 and 2025, close to two-thirds of ASML’s global immersion market. They explain why ASML’s NXT:1980, which can be legally exported to China, is the machine to watch. They also cover how etch and deposition controls are masking the full power of China’s lithography stockpile, and why Chinese indigenization announcements, including the new 28nm prototype, don’t change the strategic picture before the 2030s. Then they lay out their scenario models. Even in an extreme case, China’s current stockpile can’t match US AI chip production through 2035, but continued imports could close the gap or even tip it. Finally, Saif and Nick make the case for a countrywide ban on immersion DUV, the levers the US could pull without new legislation, and what the MATCH Act in the Senate NDAA could mean for the fight. Read the report at techstatecraft.org/duv. Chapters 00:00 – 05:35: Meet the Center for Technology and Statecraft and the people behind the report  05:35 – 08:22: What immersion DUV is, and why it matters more than EUV for China’s AI chips  08:22 – 12:56: From Cold War controls to ASML’s near-monopoly: how lithography export controls evolved  12:56 – 17:29: The counterfactual: where would Huawei and SMIC be without EUV controls?  17:29 – 22:45: Three tiers of DUV, the NXT:1980 loophole, and why countrywide beats case-by-case licensing  22:45 – 25:18: What if the US had banned all immersion DUV in 2022? From 50+ machines to ~340  25:18 – 30:02: Why China hasn’t yet unlocked the full power of its lithography stockpile  30:02 – 37:26: Can China build its own? Prototype, commercialization, scale-up, and the 2030s  37:26 – 45:40: The scenario models: when stockpile alone isn’t enough, and when imports tip the balance  45:40 – 50:13: Flops per gigawatt, 90 machines a year, and 100,000 Huawei chips per tool  50:13 – 55:11: Monday morning at BIS: allied controls, light sources, FDPR, de minimis, and the MATCH Act  55:11 – 55:27: Where to find the report

  4. Oct 15

    Trump likes mandatory AI regulation for America but not China? + Anthropic defeats distillation

    Jack Conlin and Gregory Allen examine how a new AI incident led to a shift in AI safety policy from the White House’s Super Intelligence Task Force, and CAISSI gets more direct access to the White House.  Greg and Jack discuss the landmark shift in AI policy that takes safety more seriously, but still fails to address the growing risk of Chinese models. Then, Anthropic reports it has stopped distillation from 90-99% of attempts, cutting off a core avenue that feeds Chinese AI development. Will this milestone prove to be durable, and how will it affect US AI leadership and strategy? Chapters: 00:00 – 10:10: Anthropic agents cause White House shift to tougher de facto AI regulation and oversight 10:10 – 14:06: CAISSI gets a name change and now reports to the White House 14:06 – 22:38: Focusing on US model safety without addressing Chinese models is inconsistent and jeopardizes American AI leadership 22:38 – 32:06: Anthropic has stopped 90-99% of adversarial distillation, will it lead to a durable US advantage?

  5. Oct 9

    Who Checks the AI Labs? Independent Verification with Andrew Freedman

    Andrew Freedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Fathom, returns a year after his last conversation with Gregory C. Allen to explain how independent verification organizations (IVOs) went from Fathom's niche AI policy idea to governing law in two states. They start with Fathom’s published polling on U.S. public opinion on AI and how things have changed since the OpenAI Hugging Face incident. They cover: California’s SB 813Governor Newsom’s executive order, which pulls the IVO deadline forward to May 2027 and ties IVOs to SB 53Connecticut’s five-IVO pilotWhy the bipartisan FRONTIER Act has a surprisingly high chance of being Congress' big AI bill next year. Chapters Andrew Freedman returns: what Fathom is and why it isn’t a PAC (00:00 - 02:43)The April 2026 poll: vetting, China, and who Americans trust (02:43 - 11:06)Focus groups, named CEOs, and the “Armageddon” expert (11:06 - 15:21)What an IVO is: Underwriters Laboratories and the Age of Edison (15:21 - 22:43)How IVOs work, and why voluntary is turning mandatory (22:43 - 26:27)IVOs alongside CAISI and the UK AISI; duty of care and tort law (26:27 - 31:44)Who gets to be an IVO, and who audits the auditors (31:44 - 38:29)SB 813, Newsom’s executive order, SB 53, and Connecticut’s pilot (38:29 - 47:31)Would IVOs have stopped the Hugging Face incident? (47:31 - 52:30)Bessent, Sacks, and the liability fight (52:30 - 56:59)The FRONTIER Act’s odds and the 60th Senate vote (56:59 - 1:01:28)

  6. Oct 7

    Trump's new AI czar + Nvidia exec caught smuggling chips to China

    Gregory Allen and Adam Goodwin break down recent AI policy updates out of the White House – the appointment of Jay Clayton as the new AI czar, and the assembly of a new “Super Intelligence Task Force.” They discuss how the task force’s makeup and the administration’s policy evolution has shifted, but is still hesitant to embrace the kinds of AI safety frontier labs are calling for. Then, Greg and Adam look at a recent FTC investigation of leading U.S. AI labs, as well as action from multiple state attorneys general, to break down how AI liability is perceived and proposals for how to use liability to encourage AI safety efforts. Then, unknown cyber attackers used an open-source agent to break into South Korean banks, smuggled Nvidia chips continue to flow into China, and the D.C. Circuit Court upholds Anthropic’s supply chain risk designation.  Chapters: 00:00 – 12:28: White House unveils a new AI czar and the Super Intelligence Force 12:28 – 17:36: Re-evaluating the administration’s view of, and role for, AI safety 17:36 – 34:14: Debates about AI liability and responsibility for AI incidents, and how different levels of government are thinking about it 34:14 – 42:11: An AI agent breaks into South Korea’s biggest banks 42:11 – 54:58: Nvidia chip smuggling continues to supply China advanced AI chips, and implications for the U.S. 54:58 – 1:02:41: D.C. court upholds Anthropic’s supply chain risk designation, and why both parties lost the case

  7. Sep 30

    China reaches Mythos-tier Cyber AI + White House AI Accord + Trump/Xi Debrief

    Gregory Allen and Jack Conlin recap the modest outcomes of the U.S.–China AI Summit and Trump’s UN General Assembly speech. Then, the White House has secured a voluntary AI safety accord from leading U.S. tech companies committing to a “morally binding” framework called the White House Accord on Super Intelligence. Greg also breaks down Anthropic and the U.S.’ CAISI reports that Z.ai's openly downloadable GLM 5.3 model has reached the Mythos-tier of cyber power and lags the US frontier by only four months in cyber capabilities. Plus, why did OpenAI's decide to withhold GPT-6.1 Astra? Chapters: 00:00 – 14:22: US–China summit recap and reactions 14:22 – 23:21: White House AI luncheon and voluntary safety framework 23:21 – 32:13: Unpacking the new AI safety framework 32:13 – 47:39: GLM5.3 has Mythos-level capabilities, and the new cyber AI landscape 47:39 – 56:46: How did GLM5.3 attain near-frontier level capabilities? 56:46 – 59:49: OpenAI withholds release of GPT6.1-Astra

  8. Sep 22

    Previewing U.S.-China (Trump/Xi) Summit for AI

    Greg Allen and Jack Conlin preview the upcoming summit between the United States and China and the role AI will play in the meeting. They outline how China enters the summit maintaining access to U.S. compute, pushing for domestic alternatives to U.S. and allied chips and semiconductor equipment, spreading its AI models globally, and continuing to engage in distillation. Then, they go over U.S. intelligence and industry reports of distillation, previews of the summit itself, and Greg offers his prediction on what to realistically expect from the summit. Chapters: 00:00 – 1:00 Introduction 1:00 – 14:17: Why China might feel good - continued access to American compute 14:17 – 24:30: Why China might feel good - domestic Chinese chip push 24:30 – 35:54: Why China might feel good - domestic Chinese SME push  35:54 – 38:26: Chinese open models and HUMAIN 38:26 – 43:31: Chinese concerns - AI-enabled cyber risk 43:31 – 51:46: Chinese concerns - loss of control 51:46 – 58:28: How the United States feels heading in 58:28 – 1:02:57: Detailing US intel reports of Chinese distillation 1:02:57 – 1:10:23: Breaking down Anthropic’s distillation & AI misuse report 1:10:23 – 1:18:07: Previewing the summit itself 1:18:07 –1:27:37: Potential AI Outcomes from Summit

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About

Understand everything that's going on in AI Policy and how AI impacts the world. Hosted by Gregory C. Allen.If you work in AI policy — or you're just fascinated by it — this is the podcast for you. Every week, The AI Power Podcast unpacks the developments that actually mattered: AI regulation, safety, economic policy, US–China competition, semiconductor export controls, and national security. Think of it as drinks after work with the smart friend who tells you what's really going on, and what might actually work, in plain English. Plus interview episodes — long-form conversations with the policymakers, builders, executives, and analysts shaping artificial intelligence and the global power competition built around it.

Information

  • Creator
    Gregory C. Allen
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The AI Power Podcast
  • Show Website
    The AI Power Podcast

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