How Pakistan Became the Iran War’s Unlikely Peace Negotiator

Joshua Kurlantzick

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As the United States and Iran inch toward a peace deal, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely but indispensable mediator in the negotiations. It has hosted high-level talks in Islamabad and shuttled proposals between the two sides as they work toward a lasting ceasefire.

It’s a remarkable role change for Pakistan. For years, the country has been viewed as a pariah state. Just saying its name brought to mind political instability, military rule and harsh crackdowns on freedoms [PDF], support for terrorist groups, domestic insurgencies in Balochistan province, and the constant threat of war with neighboring India. The country had few real partners other than China, to whom it owed nearly $70 billion, and it has had a massive list of International Monetary Fund debt bailouts dating back decades.

Buy What It Can, Steal What It Must: China's Campaign to Acquire Frontier AI Capabilities

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Artificial intelligence (AI) sits at the center of U.S.-China competition, and both governments treat leadership in AI as a national security priority. But AI is not a single technology; rather it is a technology stack in which each layer depends on the one beneath it. 1 Semiconductor manufacturing equipment produces advanced AI chips; those chips support the machine-learning frameworks used to build, train, and run AI models; and those models power the applications people actually use. 

Beijing wants control of the full AI stack, not just competitive applications. Xi Jinping reiterated that goal at an April 2025 Politburo study session on AI, calling for China to master core AI technologies and build a hardware and software system that China completely controls.2 China first set that direction in its 2015 “Made in China 2025” directive and its 2017 national AI strategy; Beijing has reaffirmed it in both the 14th and 15th Five-Year Plans.3 Beijing is pursuing that autonomy to strengthen its military, harden itself against foreign pressure, and keep the technologies underpinning future economic and military power under Party-state control.

How Open-Source, Real-Time Data Can Defeat China at the Edge of Its Influence

Emily Harding

The game of global influence has changed. China has undertaken a concerted effort over the last two decades to establish a web of interlocking influence structures, including economic power, media influence, health diplomacy, and digital investments. These efforts have intentionally focused down to the local level, where relatively small investments can win over allies hungry for resources.

A talented cadre of thought leaders spent the last year working on creative solutions to adapt U.S. strategy to this new era through a CSIS-hosted discussion series entitled “25 Gamechangers for 2025.” The series was originally intended to include 25 leading thinkers working together to solve this wicked problem, but the number of participants grew to 58, encompassing experts in national security, special operations, technology, public influence campaigns, and counternarcotics.

The Iran War Is Starting to Expose Cracks in China’s Economy

Keith Bradsher

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Rising oil and natural gas prices from the war in Iran are beginning to weigh on the Chinese economy, further slowing already anemic consumer spending and hurting critical export sectors.

Car sales fell in March and plunged further in April. Restaurants and hotels are seeing fewer customers as households turn cautious. In southern China, thousands of toy factory workers protested last week after their employer collapsed under rising plastic costs and ongoing tariffs in the United States.

The emerging signs of strain underscore how even China, with vast strategic oil reserves and massive investments in renewable energy, is not immune to the forces pressuring economies worldwide.

Why the UAE Walked Out on OPEC—and What It Means for the Cartel

Steven A. Cook

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Tuesday that it is withdrawing from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The decision, effective Friday, ends a fifty-eight-years membership in the cartel and deals a symbolic blow to an economic alliance that is strained by the pressures of regional war and fractured diplomacy.

The Emirati government has long taken issue with the quotas and price controls instituted by the cartel, and so it views this as in its best interest. The UAE’s departure has raised some pointed concerns about OPEC’s long-term cohesion, but it remains to be seen whether this change will have a serious effect on the cartel.

Iran Has Become Incompatible with Gulf Security

Dr. Mohamed ELDoh

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The fragile ceasefire that followed the recent US-Iran confrontation has brought temporary operational calm to the Gulf, but it has not restored regional peace and stability. Beneath the surface, something far more consequential has shifted: the complete collapse of trust between Iran and its Arab neighbors.

For decades, Gulf states navigated a difficult but pragmatic relationship with Tehran, balancing deterrence with engagement and rivalry with de-escalation. That equilibrium is now clearly broken. This conflict did not merely escalate tensions. It redefined Iran’s role in the regional security architecture, from a revisionist competitor to a direct, systemic threat to regional stability and safety.

Tremors in the Middle East: UAE’s OPEC Exit and the Iran War reshaping the Global Order

Navroop Singh and Himja Parekh

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The Middle East stands at a historic inflection point. On April 28, 2026, the United Arab Emirates’ abrupt withdrawal from OPEC and OPEC+ effective May 1 has dismantled the cartel’s third-largest producer at a time when the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has already closed the Strait of Hormuz, spiked global oil prices above $110 per barrel, and triggered emergency dollar-swap requests from Abu Dhabi. This is no mere technical dispute over quotas. 

It crystallizes a deeper fracture: the failure of an audacious Israeli-American regime-change gamble against Tehran, the acceleration of Saudi-Emirati proxy wars from Sudan to Somaliland, and the UAE’s exposed vulnerability as a resource-poor financial entrepôt now tethered exclusively to Washington and Tel Aviv. What follows unpacks the sequence of strategic miscalculations, the intensifying Gulf rivalry, and the sweeping geopolitical realignments that have left Abu Dhabi increasingly vulnerable

How the War Saved the Iranian Regime

Danny Citrinowicz

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In early February, according to The New York Times and other outlets, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced U.S. President Donald Trump that airstrikes could help catalyze an anti-regime rebellion within Iran. But after the Israeli and U.S. militaries launched a war on the Islamic Republic at the end of the month, eliminating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other key regime figures, the Islamic Republic did not collapse. Instead, internal pressure appears to have consolidated it around hard-line elements.

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The 2027 Defense Budget Request: The Good, the Bad, and What to Watch

Elaine McCusker

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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the fiscal year 2027 (FY 2027) budget request top line and summary information on Friday, April 3, 2026. As congressional staff and stakeholders await detailed program and budget information from the Pentagon and other federal departments and agencies in the coming weeks, following are a few initial observations on the requested defense budget and what to watch as details are released and evaluated.

Mercenaries At The Frontier: Dissecting An Emerging Regional Security Challenge In South And Southeast Asia – Analysis

Md. Himel Rahman

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Two years earlier, while the author was conducting key informant interviews (KIIs) for his thesis on private military contractors (PMCs), a retired senior officer of the Bangladesh Army had opined that the conflicts in South and Southeast Asia are different in nature from the conflicts in Africa, West Asia, and East Europe, and PMCs are unlikely to play an important role in this region. However, recent events, such as the arrest of one United States (US) and six Ukrainian citizens in India on the charge of mercenary activities, demonstrate the growing involvement of PMCs in the multitudes of complex conflicts in this region. Taking into account the recent phase of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), this development demonstrates the emergence of a new and complicated threat to the national security of regional states.

Carriers Fading Beyond the Horizon

Sergey E. Ivashchenko

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Naval power in the twenty‑first century has gradually moved away from large formations built around massive industrial‑era giants such as battleships and aircraft carriers. It has become distributed, autonomous, and networked. The aircraft carrier — a symbol of the industrial age — can no longer serve as the core of a fleet: it is too expensive, too vulnerable, and too dependent on infrastructure. Modern warfare requires not center‑dependence, but the absence of one — a multitude of autonomous elements that cannot be decapitated with a single strike.

This article describes the transition from a carrier‑centric model to a post‑carrier architecture built on autonomous systems, distributed strike matrices, and a new doctrine of maritime power projection. The material presented here outlines one possible pathway for the evolution of naval power in the twenty‑first century, serving as an analytical model that, under certain conditions, may develop into a doctrinal framework.

Orbits of Influence: Emerging Threats to U.S. Space Security and Foreign Policy Implications

Kari A. Bingen

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Chairman Self, Ranking Member Keating, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to appear before you today to discuss “Orbits of Influence: Emerging Threats to U.S. Space Security and Foreign Policy Implications.”1 I was privileged to work with this Committee while a staffer on the Armed Services Committee and saw firsthand the impact of your work.

As successive administrations have stated, our ability to access and use the space domain is a vital national interest.2 We have long benefited—technologically, economically, societally, militarily, and diplomatically—from our dominance in space. But that advantage is eroding. The United States must take steps now—with urgency and purpose—to maintain that leadership before we are outmatched in space.

Economic Warfare Reimagined: Insurance as a Tool of U.S. Strategic Influence

Matthew Flug, Tom Johansmeyer

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The U.S. is losing the war on sentiment in the Global South, where the world’s most economically vulnerable countries rely on larger powers for economic support and security. Russia and China have capitalized on this dynamic by seizing the economic initiative in this region, often at the expense of the U.S. To close the gap, the U.S. needs to refine its understanding of economic warfare. By embracing unorthodox strategies and innovative tools, the U.S. can more effectively wield economic power to win influence back from its adversaries.

Our occasional paper, published by Joint Special Operations University, outlines one such innovative tool called “insurance as economic security” (IAES). IAES leverages insurance to mitigate economic security challenges and allow the U.S. to improve engagement with the Global South. This approach could become a relevant, viable risk mitigation since the U.S.’ ability to deliver foreign aid atrophied in 2025. Moreover, IAES can be implemented without direct reliance on U.S. taxpayer funds.

Asia’s oil shock nightmare has only just begun

William Pesek 

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TOKYO — As the US-Israeli war on Iran drags on indefinitely, Asia is realizing the extent to which 2026 is a major game-changer for a region that had been “the main driver of global growth.” This is the International Monetary Fund’s characterization. But what a difference two months of hostilities in the Middle East make for Asian economies from Japan to Indonesia.

Since bombs began falling on Tehran on February 28, the resulting surge in the costs of energy and fertilizer — and the coming jump in food prices — has governments scrambling to sandbag their economies. Unfortunately, many are already running out of plays. Typical responses like subsidies, curbing fuel use and asking those who can work from home to do so aren’t doing the trick.

Strategic Snapshot: Forty Years Since Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster

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April 26, 2026, marked the fortieth anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. The explosion and fire that destroyed Reactor 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) on April 26, 1986, exposed systemic failures in Soviet governance, secrecy, and crisis management, which centered in Moscow, while contaminating large areas of Ukraine and neighboring states with radiation. Forty years after the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster, Moscow continues to weaponize nuclear energy against Ukraine (see EDM, May 2, 2025).

Russia has weaponized Ukrainian nuclear sites since the beginning of its full-scale invasion. In February 2025, a Russian drone caused 15 square meters (approximately 161 square feet) of damage to the New Safe Confinement structure covering Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl NPP (Telegram/@mindovkillia, February 18, 2025). Russian forces occupied the NPP from February 24 to March 31, 2022. During the occupation, heavy military vehicles disturbed contaminated soil, leading to detectable rises in radiation levels. Ukrainian staff also reported signs of radiation exposure among Russian soldiers, who reportedly soon arrived at a Belarusian medical center specializing in radiation treatment (Militarnyi, March 31, 2022).

The U.S. Economy Was Shaky Before the Iran War. Now It’s in Real Trouble.

Roger W. Ferguson Jr.

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Roger W. Ferguson Jr. is the Steven A Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. Maximilian Hippold is a research associate at CFR.

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the February U.S. and Israeli attack has sparked a global economic supply shock. The resulting damage could exceed the disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite a two-week ceasefire, traffic through the strait has hardly resumed to the level that President Donald Trump had promised, and countries around the world have started to feel the effects.

The U.S. Economy Was Shaky Before the Iran War. Now It’s in Real Trouble.

Roger W. Ferguson Jr.
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Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the February U.S. and Israeli attack has sparked a global economic supply shock. The resulting damage could exceed the disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite a two-week ceasefire, traffic through the strait has hardly resumed to the level that President Donald Trump had promised, and countries around the world have started to feel the effects.

Asia has been hit particularly hard: more than 80 percent of the oil that typically transits the strait goes to the region, which means several countries have had to implement fuel-saving measures because of the conflict. In Bangladesh, garment factories are sitting idle; Pakistan has begun closing schools; and countries like the Philippines and Sri Lanka have shortened the workweek. Even wealthier economies such as Australia and South Korea have started to encourage conservation efforts.

DeepSeek V4 Signals a New Phase in the U.S.-China AI Rivalry

Chris McGuire

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Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek released a version of its long-awaited V4 large language model on Friday. It’s the most significant update since the release of the version that rattled global tech markets more than a year ago. Like DeepSeek’s previous models, V4 is open source, meaning it is available for anyone to download, use, and modify. The company claims the new model rivals leading closed-source systems from American firms—like Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini—on major benchmarks, while outperforming its rival open-source models.

The release has again trained attention on the intensifying U.S.-China AI competition. Adding to the tension, the White House’s science and technology office has accused foreign entities—primarily Chinese ones—of conducting large-scale efforts to extract knowledge from U.S. frontier AI models, a broadside widely seen as directed at DeepSeek.

Gulf States Retain Advantages in the AI Race Despite War

Justin Alexander

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This paper was initially completed in late February 2026, presenting a broadly optimistic view that the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are well-positioned to play a major role in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI). The Gulf states were quick to recognize the importance of AI, and their ambitions are already visible in large-scale initiatives by state-backed entities, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. This paper provides a structured assessment of the actions and investments related to AI that have been taken by the Gulf states over the last few years and provides an analytical framework for understanding their structural advantages and assessing their next steps. Their potential in AI is based on interlocking enablers that include committed political leadership, vast capital reserves, abundant low-cost electricity, access to talent, strategic geographic connectivity, conducive business environments, and diversified international partnerships.

These enablers are underpinned by the deep structural relevance of AI for the region’s own economy, with anticipated impacts that are more clearly net positive than is the case for most countries globally. This is because AI can support a shift away from low-skilled expatriate labor and enhance efficiency across the public and private sectors. Data centers also underpin demand for the region’s energy production.

Generative AI as a weapon of war in Iran

Valerie Wirtschafter

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On February 28, 2026, a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign struck Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership targets in what was officially dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Social media quickly flooded with false footage of the conflict, including massive explosions in Tel Aviv, successful Iranian missile strikes on U.S. warships, and satellite imagery purporting to show damage to American military bases in the Gulf.

Some of this footage was recycled from unrelated conflicts, including in Ukraine, and even from video games. Yet some of it was entirely fabricated and created with now ubiquitous generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can produce even more realistic content at scale. Several observers of the space emphasized the unprecedented volume of AI-generated content and its increasing sophistication.

Japan and China Are Edging Dangerously Close to Conflict

Deng Yuwen

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On April 17, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait. It was the second such passage by a Japanese warship in 10 months, yet Beijing’s response was far harsher this time. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have degenerated sharply since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments last November that Japan could come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, and Eastern Theater Command all put out statements condemning Japan after the April transit, telling it to “step back from the brink” and warning it to “return from the wrong path,” while Jun Zhengping, a People’s Liberation Army-linked social media account, warned that Japan was playing with fire. At the same time, the Eastern Theater Command launched combat readiness patrols in the East China Sea and sent warships near Okinawa.

Sun Tzu’s Advice for Donald Trump

STEPHEN S. ROACH

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Amid a series of massive, illegal policy blunders, US President Donald Trump has set his sights on stabilizing relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping at their May summit. But it will probably go poorly because Trump is incapable of understanding the importance of strategy, a lesson that China's leaders have long grasped.

NEW HAVEN—Rumor has it that last year, US President Donald Trump delayed his so-called Liberation Day tariff announcement by a day, to April 2, because he didn’t want his unconstitutional trade “emergency” to come across as an April Fools’ Day hoax. This year, Trump defied the calendar with an address to the nation on April 1, touting yet another unconstitutional act—a war with Iran conducted without congressional approval.

The Staged Death of China’s Military-Civil Fusion

Ryan D. Martinson

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On March 13, 2026, China issued the outline for its 15th Five-Year Plan — a core document defining Chinese government policies into the next decade. In the hierarchy of Chinese sources, Five-Year Plan outlines rank among the most “authoritative” in that they are issued by the government, directly reflecting its will and aspirations. This places them in a special class that includes white papers, work reports, and, perhaps above all, the words of Xi Jinping. Among analysts of Chinese affairs, authoritative sources are generally regarded as the most valuable documents for deciphering Beijing’s intentions.

For years, MCF has been a major irritant in China-U.S. relations, given that it requires China-based companies, research organizations, and individuals – including those with substantial U.S. ties – to engage in activities that support China’s military development. This is the second consecutive Five-Year Plan outline with little or no reference to MCF, suggesting that Beijing has abandoned this controversial policy. If true, this could reflect an effort by China to dial down tensions with the United States – a rare good news story in an age of growing antagonism and rivalry.

Faisal Islam: Why the UAE's exit from Opec is a big deal

Faisal Islam

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It is a very big deal that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its abrupt exit from Opec, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Emiratis were members even before they became a nation state in 1971. Opec is the organisation of mainly Gulf oil exporters, which for many decades controlled the price of crude oil by decreasing or increasing production and allocating quotas across its membership. It had a vital role in 1970s oil crises, which in turn transformed global energy policy.

While Opec production is dominated by Saudi Arabia, the UAE had the second highest spare production capacity. In other words, it was the second most important swing producer, capable of increasing production to help ease prices. Indeed it is precisely this that led to long-term reconsiderations of the UAE's position. Put simply, the UAE wanted to use the considerable capacity it has invested in.

Light speed weapons? Directed energy and the future of the ADF

Malcolm Davis

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Directed energy weapons (DEW), including high energy laser and high-power microwave weapons, are increasingly important in counter-drone tasks across air, sea and land. Technical challenges remain in optimising DEW technology as a viable military capability but DEW capabilities have the potential to create an inflection point in warfare as they offer virtually instantaneous effects at very low cost per shot compared with traditional missiles and, with a stable power source, they have effectively unlimited ‘magazines’.

US Operation Epic Fury and Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion show the need to invest in cheaper and more sustainable DEW capabilities which may not replace but will reduce reliance on expensive missile defence interceptors such as Patriot

Iran Is More Unified Than Ever

Ali Hashem

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TEHRAN—Many policymakers in Washington seem to believe Iran has lacked clear leadership during the war. Leading the way has been U.S. President Donald Trump, who argues that there is no one in Iran for the United States to negotiate a peace deal with. After the attack that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he even suggested that he should help choose Iran’s next leader.

The suggestion from the U.S. government is that Iran is divided, unstable, and without direction. Recent events in Tehran tell a different story.

The Jeddah Departure

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The Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday had been choreographed for weeks. Six heads of state, a single communique, an image of Arab unity in the face of an Iranian blockade entering its third month: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain arrived with pre-cleared talking points on the collective defense of the Arabian Peninsula. The United Arab Emirates arrived with a different script. Before the closing statement could be drafted, the Emirati delegation announced that effective May 1, after fifty-nine years of membership, the country would leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its expanded alliance, OPEC+, the coordinated framework that has bound Riyadh, Moscow, and Abu Dhabi to a shared production discipline since 2016. 

Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei described the move, in a measured statement read on Emirati state television, as “a sovereign national decision aligned with our evolving energy profile.” West Texas Intermediate crossed one hundred dollars a barrel within the hour, the first triple-digit print since April 10.

Why Iran Isn’t Blinking Yet

Keith Johnson

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The Trump administration believes that the two-week-old, semi-porous U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping will soon bring Tehran to its knees by forcing it to shut down oil wells as it runs out of storage space for crude it can no longer ship. That looming production shutdown, the administration believes, threatens Iran with permanent, severe damage to a major part of its economy, and explains why Washington appears content to wait for an Iranian surrender that has yet to materialize in the eight-week war.

Special Edition on Iran: Going Straight to the Strait

Richard Haass

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Iran has reportedly proposed to the United States that the two countries focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and postpone consideration of Iran’s nuclear program and other issues. The United States should accept this approach and suggest that these negotiations commence as quickly as possible.

Postponing discussion of the nuclear issue makes good sense. There are times when adding issues to a negotiation can create tradeoffs that make agreement less difficult. This is not one of those times. Previous negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have taken years. They are both highly technical and deeply contentious. The gap between the United States and Iran on the basic elements of any accord – what should be done with the nearly one thousand pounds of enriched uranium in Iran; whether Iran should have a right to enrich uranium and, if so, how much and to what level; what, if any, moratorium there should be on future enrichment and how long it should last; and what should be done regarding inspections – precludes any rapid agreement.

The shadow fleet is undermining the maritime order more brazenly than ever

Elisabeth Braw

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In 2026, the Baltic Sea countries, France, India, and others have inspected and detained more shadow-fleet vessels than in prior years. In response, Russian military vessels have begun escorting shadow vessels through the English Channel and Baltic Sea. Some Iranian shadow vessels have been able to sail despite the war in Iran and Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. A not insignificant number have also managed to evade the United States’ blockade of Iranian ports.

Since the end of 2022, the shadow fleet—a large and growing group of ships that sail outside the official shipping system—has been in the news because of its role transporting sanctioned Russian oil. In March 2026, Iranian shadow vessels began attracting attention as well, as they have been able to keep sailing despite one and then two blockades amid the war in Iran.

Redefining Energy Security

RICHARD HAASS and CAROLYN KISSANE

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In the aftermath of COVID-19, firms shifted from a “just in time” model to a “just in case” approach that sought to strengthen resilience. With oil and gas infrastructure becoming a primary military target, energy systems must now undergo a similar transition.

NEW YORK—It is too soon to know when or how the war with Iran will end, or what its geopolitical or economic consequences will be. But one thing is already certain: What is meant by energy security must be rethought.

Has America Fought Well in the Iran War? With Mick Ryan

Mick Ryan

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Major General Mick Ryan, Australian Army (retired), Senior Fellow for Military Studies at the Lowy Institute, adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of the Futura Doctrina Substack joins the show to dissect the current state of the war in Iran. Is this conflict entering a postmortem phase, or are we still in the middle of it? How has America performed so far? How does this war connect to the Pacific theater? Are we adapting for a broader global conflict, and are our adversaries adapting as well?

Trump Is Dissatisfied With Iran’s Plan to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

Tyler Pager and Julian E. Barnes

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President Trump has told advisers he is not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, according to multiple people briefed on discussions in the White House Situation Room on Monday. The proposal also called on the United States to end its naval blockade but would have set aside questions about what to do with Iran’s nuclear program, according to U.S. and Iranian officials familiar with details of the negotiations.

Iran has repeatedly rejected American proposals to suspend its nuclear program and hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. It is not clear precisely why Mr. Trump is not satisfied with the proposal, but he has repeatedly insisted that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. A U.S. official also said that accepting it could appear to deny Mr. Trump a victory.

The Forces of Scarcity Hitting Asia May Soon Spread Across the World

Damien Cave

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When the war in Iran started on Feb. 28, Asia expected to see serious, gradual impacts from losing access to a huge portion of the world’s oil and gas. But the conflict’s economic and social impacts have hit the region harder and faster than officials and experts expected. Many countries across the Asia-Pacific are experiencing sudden jolts of disruption that they are struggling to manage, with some comparing the crisis’s breakdowns and scope to the Covid pandemic.

Even if there is a peace deal soon, the future of this industrious region that has driven global economic growth for decades will likely include months of canceled flights, surging food prices, factory pauses, delayed shipments and empty shelves for products long considered quick and easy to buy worldwide: plastic bags, instant noodles, vaccines, syringes, lipstick, microchips and sportswear.

Google staff urge chief executive to block US military AI use

Stephen Morris

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More than 560 Google employees have signed an open letter to chief executive Sundar Pichai urging him to refuse to let the US government use its AI technology for classified military operations. “We want to see AI benefit humanity, not being used in inhumane or extremely harmful ways,” read the letter, which was sent to Pichai on Monday. “This includes lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, but extends beyond.” 

“The only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harms is to reject any classified workloads,” it continued. “Otherwise, such uses may occur without our knowledge or the power to stop them.” Big tech companies are under pressure to take a stance on military and intelligence use of their AI products after a clash between the Pentagon and AI start-up Anthropic.