Washington AI Network with Tammy Haddad

In this special episode recorded at the Élysée Palace in Paris, host Tammy Haddad speaks with two female forces at the forefront of AI and sustainability. Thaima Samman, president of the European Network for Women in Leadership and a partner at SAMMAN Law and Corporate Affairs, offers an inside look at Europe’s bold attempt to regulate AI while still stoking innovation—and shows why empowering women in tech is non-negotiable for true progress. Dr. Sasha Luccioni, AI and climate lead at Hugging Face and a Time100 AI honoree, discusses the environmental challenges linked to AI, along with strategies for developing and deploying AI solutions to spur climate action and encourage long-term sustainability. The conversation is a preview of February’s AI Action Summit, which will bring together business leaders, policymakers, researchers, and experts to explore the future of AI—focusing especially on how to incorporate inclusivity, ethics, and sustainability into its development.

Tammy Haddad interviews Courtney O’Donnell, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), for a deep dive into AI’s transformative impact from Paris. O’Donnell shares UNESCO’s initiatives in using AI to advance global education, protect cultural heritage, and preserve indigenous languages, emphasizing a human-centered approach. Maloney outlines the OECD’s pivotal role in fostering multilateral AI cooperation, promoting inclusivity, and embedding ethical principles into AI frameworks. They address critical topics, including AI’s energy demands, healthcare advancements like AI-powered tuberculosis diagnostics in India, and the urgency of global collaboration to ensure equitable access to AI’s benefits.

In this episode, André Loesekrug-Pietri, chairman of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI), and General Jean-Paul Paloméros, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, join host Tammy Haddad to discuss AI’s transformative impact on science, deep tech, and Europe’s key role. Loesekrug-Pietri highlights JEDI’s upcoming AI Action Summit challenge on agricultural carbon storage, the need for sustainable AI innovation, and warns of the dangers of not engaging with China on AI. Paloméros shares his perspective on AI’s role in defense and addresses the current complex global challenges.

Anne Bouverot, France’s Special Envoy for AI, joins host Tammy Haddad to discuss the highly anticipated 2025 AI Action Summit, which aims to unite global leaders and innovators in shaping the future of AI. Recorded at STATION F in Paris, the conversation dives into pressing issues such as AI’s impact on climate change, its transformative effects on the workforce, and the need for inclusivity and equity in its development. Bouverot emphasizes the summit’s mission to balance AI’s risks and opportunities while fostering trust through scientific consensus.

Christopher Kirchhoff, co-author of “Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Future of War,” and a founding figure of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), joins host Tammy Haddad to explore the military's race to integrate cutting-edge technology. From key breakthroughs in AI and autonomous systems to the hurdles of bureaucracy and global tech rivalry, Kirchhoff delivers an important history lesson on defense technology and an insider’s perspective on the dangers ahead. He discusses his work on AI safety, and offers analysis of Anthropic, OpenAI, and all the frontier labs.

Srikar Varadaraj, founder and CEO of Eternis, joins host Tammy Haddad to discuss the need to create trustworthy, secure, and authenticated digital identities as AI labs race towards AGI. Varadaraj, who previously co-founded Spectral for developing a fair credit-scoring mechanism, calls for a future where every human has a top-level AI agent to perform arbitrary tasks – all while protecting personal agency – so that humans own and control their identities.

Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse and Simulation Technology at NVIDIA, joins Tammy Haddad to discuss NVIDIA’s role in advancing robot brains, the industry's race toward physical AI, competition in the AI robotics space, and his journey from creating computer graphics for Hollywood films to leading AI-driven robotics technology at NVIDIA.

David Marchick brings his experience in law, finance, and government to his role as dean of American University’s Kogod School of Business. In this episode, host Tammy Haddad interviews Marchick, on the role of AI and technology in business education. As higher education’s approach on AI evolves, Marchick highlights how Kogod is embedding AI instruction into every part of the school’s core curriculum to drive innovation and success in the classroom and beyond.

OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar has been waving the flag on the importance of federal research and development to drive American innovation. In this episode, host Tammy Haddad interviews Prabhakar on her background in technology and government, the White House’s focus on increasing R&D for AI and national security, and how she believes science and technology will continue driving U.S. competitiveness around the world.

Ted Leonsis, Revolution Growth partner, Zephyr AI investor, and Monumental Sports owner, and Grant Verstandig, co-founder and executive chairman of Zephyr AI and Red Cell Partners, join host Tammy Haddad to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming the patient-doctor relationship by leveraging AI to analyze data, identify patterns, improve decision-making, and enhance patient outcomes. Leonsis and Verstandig also highlight the importance of maintaining America’s global competitiveness by mitigating the China threat and addressing AI’s energy needs with nuclear power.

Hemant Taneja, CEO and Managing Director of General Catalyst and Teresa Carlson, Inaugural President of General Catalyst Institute (GCI), discuss the launch of GCI, and how they are shaping AI policy guidance around the world, as well as connecting their diverse portfolio to governments to promote global resilience.

Jeremy Kahn, Fortune’s AI editor and author of the new book, “Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future” tells host Tammy Haddad that AI “could really be the last fully man-made, human-invented invention” and calls for technologists and governments alike to create methods to properly train AI.  He also reports on the expansion of warfare using AI systems. Stay tuned for the lightning round to hear Kahn’s answers on where Google, OpenAI, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and Elon Musk stand in the race to AGI and possibly ASI.

FBI Chief of Staff Jonathan Lenzner and Cyber Division assistant director Bryan Vorndran join host Tammy Haddad for a live interview at FBI headquarters to discuss the FBI’s approach to all things AI. From combating threats from domestic and foreign nefarious actors to protecting children, senior citizens, and families against the harms of AI, Lenzner and Vorndran highlight how the nation’s top investigators are working with industry to protect American innovation with the rise of AI in this new digital age.

At the Center for AI Safety (CAIS)’s Washington, DC launch reception, Sen. Brian Schatz, CAIS executive director Dan Hendrycks, and CAIS board member and Skype founder Jann Tallinn discuss the government’s role in AI oversight and safety and the pressures facing the AI industry. Guest host and CNN anchor Pamela Brown leads the conversation. Rep. French Hill makes opening remarks.

Elizabeth Kelly, director of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, joins host Tammy Haddad for a live interview at the new Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., before a live theater audience. Kelly, who co-authored President Biden’s AI Executive Order, highlights her efforts standing up the U.S. AI Safety Institute at NIST, the Institute’s new draft guidance on AI model misuse, including combatting image-based sexual abuse content generated by AI, and lays out how safety drives innovation and their plans for international cooperation and model testing. Kelly also introduces the Institute’s new head of policy, Conrad Stosz.

Rob Silvers, DHS Under Secretary for Policy, joins host Tammy Haddad for an interview on how DHS is deploying AI in the new digital age. Silvers, an attorney and former adjunct law professor, is the foremost senior official on cybersecurity policy in the federal government. In this episode, Silvers highlights how DHS is protecting Americans from domestic threats, leveraging AI to curb fentanyl at the border, holding tech companies accountable, and the importance of winning the AI race against China.

Less than one year since the UK hosted the first AI Safety Summit, all eyes turn to France for the next global AI summit. President Macron chose AI leader Anne Bouverot as Special Envoy to organize the AI Action Summit. In this episode, Bouverot, who holds a PhD in AI Research, shares her team’s plans including – for the first time – the official dates and goals of the AI Action Summit.

In this episode, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the House AI Caucus, David Zapolsky, Amazon’s SVP of Global Public Policy & General Counsel, Dr. Seth Center, the State Department's Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, and Rebecca Finlay, CEO of the Partnership on AI, join host Tammy Haddad for a fireside chat and panel discussion on the one year anniversary of the White House’s Voluntary AI Commitments and the road ahead.

Ben Brake, Director General at the German Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, joins host Tammy Haddad for a breakfast to discuss how Germany and the EU are approaching AI policy, as well as competing against China, regulating disinformation, and implementing the Digital Services Act.

Mary Ellen Callahan, Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office, tells host Tammy Haddad AI has not yet made creating a chemical or biological threat easier but following the new DHS report, but it is time to put in the governance, structure and baseline standards (including the the Department of Commerce’s AI Safety Institute) so model developers can apply the right standards to keep as much of the novel chemical and biological threats off of AI as possible.