Memos to the President

Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012, and serves as one of SCSP's Board of Advisors. Together, they discuss AI and the future of warfare, the U.S.-China-Taiwan security dynamic, and strategic guidance for the Secretary of Defense. 

They reference the following article, AI is Already at War, Foreign Affairs.

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

This memo outlines a new alliance structure to advance America's qualitative technology advantage in a global technology competition along the following objectives: 

1. Identify and organize the most capable and secure partners to innovate and develop critical technologies before U.S. rivals.
2. Safeguard access to critical technologies that are sensitive for national security.
3. Establish broader partnerships to develop and build out safe and secure technology applications to promote shared prosperity. 
4. Prevent rivals from gaining any technology advantage in this competition.

Read the full memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/alliesandpartners/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

In our Episode 13, SCSP's Addis Goldman and Brady Helwig highlight the key objectives of the newest Memo to the President all about revitalizing U.S. advanced manufacturing capabilities in a new Trump Administration. 

Together, they outline a strategy to reestablish U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing through targeted technology development, organizational reforms, and national policy interventions in the following  ways: 

• Drive AI-Enabled Innovation in Advanced Manufacturing
• Reorganize and Scale the Manufacturing Policy Ecosystem
• Forge National Policies to Drive Technology Adoption

Read the full memo here: https://scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/advanced-manufacturing

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

They discuss China's DeepSeek AI model release and the challenges the US's perceived lead in the field.  This necessitates a shift in US national security strategy, including assuming worst-case scenarios about adversary AI capabilities, bolstering defenses for US AI infrastructure, and developing policies to address the proliferation of foreign AI models.  Furthermore, the US must adopt a comprehensive approach beyond export controls, incorporating diplomatic, intelligence, and defense actions, while also recognizing the potential for a bifurcated digital world with competing AI ecosystems.

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

SCSP expands upon it's AI+Robotics Summit held in October 2024, identifying actions to secure U.S. leadership at the convergence of AI and robotics. Watch the full event here.

Objectives in the Robotics Memo:

1. Set national-level technology goals for robotics that ensure U.S. leadership in development, deployment, and responsible use, driving economic growth, enhancing national security, and improving quality of life.
2. Accelerate the adoption of robotics and embodied AI across U.S. industries to enhance competitiveness and strengthen the American workforce.
3. Achieve strategic independence for the U.S. robotics industry, ensuring a resilient domestic ecosystem capable of leading innovation, production, and deployment without undue reliance on any country of concern, especially China.

Read the full memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/robotics/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

In 2017, Schadlow was instrumental in drafting President Trump's NSS. She emphasizes that the document's straightforward approach was intentional and aligned with Trump's clear vision for American interests. The NSS focused on four pillars: protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity, preserving peace through strength, and advancing American influence. Notably, the document identified China as a strategic competitor, a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy.

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

Our latest SCSP Substack discusses the implications of DeepSeek’s R-1, a new large language model (LLM) developed by a PRC AI firm. The model has matched the performance of leading U.S. closed models at much lower compute costs, challenging the U.S.'s assumed technological leadership.

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

This episode focuses on the actions that will maximize AI's contributions to economic competitiveness, societal wellbeing, and national security while removing bureaucratic barriers to innovation. 

• Chart a path for AI development that protects the American people and national security.
• Streamline regulations for emerging technologies.
• Prioritize high-consequence use cases.
• Implementing a national data strategy that treats data as a strategic asset for innovation and security.

Read the full memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/governance-2/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

We want to ensure the U.S. military opens up a commanding lead in innovation and lethality by doing the following: 

1. Forge the World’s Most Dominant Fighting Force by Organizing and Equipping the Department of Defense for Unrivaled Lethality and Technological Supremacy;
2. Seize and Hold the Commanding Ground in AI and Digital Warfare to Guarantee American Leadership in the Defining Battlespace of the 21st Century; and
3. Resurrect American Industrial Might by Building a 21st Century Arsenal of Democracy to Secure Our Technological and Military Edge.

Read the full report here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/defense-2/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

This memo outlines a set of ambitious goals for reforming the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) that, if achieved, would position the IC to adapt to the coming wave of revolutionary technological change and improve its ability to protect the nation’s economic competitiveness in the decades ahead.

Given the IC’s crucial role in securing the homeland and supporting the United States’ ability to pursue its strategic goals, it must revolutionize its approach to its work and better address the importance of national techno-economic competitiveness. In doing so, it should reorient itself to fulfill five objectives:

1. Elevate the collection and analysis of foreign technology capabilities and economic threats to a top priority;
2. Establish a new and fully funded institutional home for Open Source Intelligence;
3. Prioritize the formation of strategic intelligence alliances to dominate the techno-economic advantage;
4. Provide the President with the means to push back against hybrid warfare threats; and
5. Transform the future IC workforce.

Read the full memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/intelligence-2/

In the episode, Chip and Ylli discuss a previous Substack SCSP's Intel team released called A Day in the Life of an AI-Augmented Analyst. Read it here: https://scsp222.substack.com/p/day-in-the-life-of-an-ai-augmented

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

Given the critical nature of this decade to solidify American economic prosperity, social well-being, and global leadership, the United States should orient itself around three main objectives to dominate the technology stack of the future:

1. Achieve and Maintain Leadership in Foundational Technologies. The United States must achieve and maintain a clear lead in the foundational technologies that will underpin the future economy and military power. This includes artificial intelligence (AI), advanced compute and microelectronics, advanced networks, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation energy. Leadership in these technologies will be critical to fostering the next-generation of innovations that will shape the geopolitical competition for the years to come.
2. Build a Resilient and Secure Technology Stack. The United States needs to foster an innovation ecosystem that both facilitates new discoveries and secures our inventions from external shocks and adversarial exploitation.
3. Mobilize the Nation for a Technological Transformation. The United States must foster a society-wide effort to drive technological progress, similar to the national mobilization seen during the Space Race of the mid-twentieth century. This requires a renewed focus on people and talent, cutting bureaucratic red tape, and returning to a risk-taking innovation culture that will enable America to out maneuver and outpace China.

Read the Full Memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/future-tech/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

This episode discusses not one, but two, new memos released by SCSP. 

The first memo outlines a strategic framework for the United States to lead the evolving international techno-economic order, characterized by rapid technological advancements and intensifying geopolitical competition. We believe the United States must leverage its strengths to shape this new order and advance its economic and national security interests. To effectively navigate this evolving landscape, the United States must pursue a comprehensive strategy with the following core objectives:

1. Promote American-led Technology Platforms to Counter People’s Republic of China (PRC) Alternatives;
2. Rally Allies to Deny Revisionist Powers Access to Strategic Technologies; and
3. Rebuild International Trade for a Fragmented World.

Read the Techno-Economic Order Memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/economy/

In order to modernize the Department of Commerce for strategic competition, we outline key recommendations in the second memo for restructuring the Department of Commerce to advance U.S. economic and national security interests. Our goals are clear, DOC needs to:

1. Supercharge the Department of Commerce to Lead America’s AI Future
2. Bolster Techno-Economic Intelligence Capabilities
3. Position the U.S. Industrial Base for Techno-Industrial Competition
4. Organize the Bureau of Industry and Security for Tech Rivalry
5. Retool the International Trade Administration

Read the DOC Memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/department-of-commerce/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

The United States must act decisively to maintain its global leadership in the face of rising challenges from the People's Republic of China (PRC) and other authoritarian powers. This memo outlines five key objectives to ensure U.S. victory, focusing on:

• Expand American-led technology platforms globally: The United States should secure critical technology platforms by partnering with allies and launch an American "tech package" initiative to counter the PRC's Digital Silk Road and demonstrate that the U.S. can offer more than just cheap infrastructure.
• Integrate the private sector into foreign policy: The U.S. government needs a new paradigm of public-private alignment to leverage the reach, ingenuity, and resources of the American technology sector as critical enablers of U.S. foreign policy to advance national interests in the global competition.
• Reignite the Allies+Maximum Pressure campaign: The United States must organize its allies and partners to curtail adversaries' access to critical technologies and protect shared technology ecosystems, using offensive tools like joint export controls and defensive measures like reciprocal trade policies.
• Champion a 'Disruptive Freedom' agenda: To push back against authoritarian influence, the United States should invest in technologies that promote free expression in closed environments, build coalitions with emerging democracies on championing new ideas of freedom, and develop a whole-of-government strategic communications approach.
• Transform U.S. foreign policy institutions: Transformational change is needed at the State Department and across the foreign policy apparatus, including appointing a Presidential Envoy for Tech Competition, restructuring the Department to put technology at the core, and building a new "joint" National Security Service workforce.

Key questions addressed:

1. How can the United States push back against the PRC's growing tech spheres of influence?
2. What new public-private partnerships, talent pipelines, and institutional reforms are needed to leverage American innovation for international advantage?
3. How can the U.S. harness emerging technologies to champion freedom and counter authoritarian influence in the global battle of ideas?

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

We argue, the United States must act decisively to maintain its lead in the critical emerging field of developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This memo outlines key steps to ensure U.S. dominance in AGI, focusing on:

• Accelerating AGI development: Launching "moonshot" programs akin to the Apollo Program, Manhattan Project, and Operation Warp Speed to drive rapid innovation.
• Securing necessary resources: Implementing robust short and long-term funding strategies and infrastructure investments.
• Establishing offensive and defensive strategies: Protecting U.S. AGI technologies while mitigating potential threats.

Key questions addressed:

• How can the United States maintain its edge in the face of China's growing AGI capabilities?
• What organizational structures and funding mechanisms will best support AGI development?
• How can the United States proactively address the national security implications of AGI?

Read the full Memo here: https://www.scsp.ai/reports/memostothepresident/artificial-general-intelligence/

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

In this first episode of Memos to the President, Eric Schmidt, in conversation with Ylli Bajraktari at SCSP, discusses his new book "Genesis" co-authored with Henry Kissinger and Craig Mundie. He emphasizes the rapid advancement of AI, particularly highlighting the development of agents capable of complex tasks and the potential for AI to revolutionize programming and mathematics. Schmidt stresses the urgency for the US to lead in the AI race against China, emphasizing the need for a national initiative to accelerate AI development and ensure the US maintains its competitive edge. He also discusses the implications of AI for warfare, drawing on lessons from current conflicts, and makes the case for increased autonomy and affordability in defense technology.

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.  

Music: Grand Design by Stephen Keech

Memos to the President Podcast is a product of the Special Competitive Studies Project.