The Frontier

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by FAI Non-Resident Senior Fellow and Bismarck Analysis president and founder Samo Burja to dissect the frontier lab as an institution. We cover: whether frontier labs are fundamentally different from a typical corporation, why American labs haven’t adopted a Space Race-era ethos centered on beating our adversaries, what it would mean for AI to become a utility, and whether software engineers are overidentifying as shape rotators.

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Tim Hwang is joined by Rainmaker founder and CEO Augustus Doricko and FAI Director of Science and Innovation Ian Banks to discuss Rainmaker’s role in the deployment of cloud seeding technology. We cover: how innovators in weather modification can build trust around safety and efficacy, what “water rights” look like when said water is still in the sky, why scale is what determines whether cloud seeding is a science project or an efficient mode of infrastructure, and whether you’d need more drones for a cloud seeding operation or a really great LED drone show.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang is joined by FAI Non-Resident Senior Fellow Sam Manning to talk about what we know (and mostly what we don’t) about how AI is impacting jobs. We cover: explaining why AI hasn’t had a massive impact on employment so far, second-mover advantages in AI adoption, policymaking under conditions of epistemic uncertainty, and the Manning 2028 platform for AI and labor.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by FAI Research Fellows Gavin Fry and Isaiah Menning to discuss the current state of weather modification science and technology. We cover: how to get the government to keep pace with new research in weather modification, why Utah’s investment in cloud seeding increased twentyfold in recent years, how conservatives should think about mankind’s relationship with nature, and whether we need a jumbo cloud chamber installed at a national lab.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by FAI Non-Resident Fellow and Center for Technology and Statecraft Research Fellow Amelia Michael to talk about the economic and political impact from the coming wave of robotics. We cover: why no one really seems to know what a robot is, scaling laws, how quickly we might reindustrialize, whether robot competition is like AI competition, and what being inside the factory of the future might feel like.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by Avery James, Communications Director at Echelon Insights, to talk about what the latest polling reveals about the politics of the data center. We cover: why data centers have become a special target of hatred in American politics, how the frontier labs should navigate 2028, the ethics of yelling at Mark Zuckerberg, and what a surging DSA bodes for the future of AGI.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Charles Fain Lehman and Reason Assistant Editor Autumn Billings to sort out the merits of the recent backlash against Flock’s automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). We cover: what’s driving the animus against Flock, whether police departments can minimize the privacy risks and maximize the safety benefits of ALPRs, how to weigh the tradeoffs between efficiency and transparency in law enforcement reporting, and whether traffic surveillance will ruin the thrill of low-level speeding on the highway.

Read with us—

* “In Defense of Flock,” by Charles Fain Lehman in The Atlantic

* “Georgia Has Arrested At Least 20 Individuals for Misusing the Flock Surveillance Database,” by Autumn Billings in Reason

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by Copia Automation CEO Adam Gluck and FAI Research Fellow Soham Mehta to reflect on recent cybersecurity threats. We cover: how much the OpenAI-HuggingFace incident and Iranian wastewater attacks relied on advanced offensive hacking capabilities versus an underdeveloped “defense,” why cyber is the most obvious attack vector for a rogue AI, what holds critical infrastructure systems back from reducing their vulnerability to cyberattacks, and how the tax code can incentivize investment in securing operational tech.

Read with us—

* “How to Safeguard America’s Critical Infrastructure,” by Lars Erik Schönander, Joshua Levine, and Adam Gluck in American Affairs

* “America’s Sewer Systems Are Surprisingly Vulnerable to Cyberattacks,” by Soham Mehta in Policy Gradients

* Senator Tom Cotton’s letter urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to clarify the tax code to promote investment in OT cybersecurity

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by FAI Research Fellow Kevin Hawickhorst to learn about good governance through the lens of his new paper, “Competent Bureaucracy: Rebuilding State Capacity.” We cover: how managerial responsibility in the executive branch was eroded during the 60s and 70s, what kind of tough questions the government used to ask its managers, whether the political right should take pride in its talent for saying no to The Groups, and why it matters whether it seems cool to be serious.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org

Tim Hwang and Rachel Reses are joined by historian Andrew Fagal to reflect on America’s tradition of technological innovation in light of America 250. We cover: whether innovators were more willing to take risks and fail during the Founding Era, why Congress used to reward inventors for blowing things up in the Potomac River, whether President Jefferson would have been excited about autonomy in warfare, and how America’s national anthem is actually about military engineering.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.frontier.thefai.org