Deterrence, nonproliferation and strategic competition should be the pillars of U.S. strategy for developing and dealing with “superintelligent” artificial intelligence, according to Dan Hendrycks, who heads the Center for AI Safety, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization.

Mr. Hendrycks, who recently wrote a major paper on the dangers of “superintelligence” with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, explains on the latest episode of the Threat Status weekly podcast that superintelligent AI systems are those deemed to be “vastly smarter than all people at basically all things.”

He warns such systems could be used by one state against another — for instance, Russia or China could use a superintelligent AI to develop a new anti-ballistic missile system that could erase America’s second-strike capability, or use it to develop “transparent oceans” so they could track American nuclear submarines deep under the surface.

Threat Status’ Vaughn Cockayne breaks down the Hendrycks interview in a print article titled: “The new Cold War: Superintelligent AI poised to radically change U.S. defense.”

Two months into Mr. Trump’s second term, signs of the administration’s approach to Beijing are emerging: China remains the most dangerous flash point for war, and the U.S. defense and industrial base is currently inadequate to support a conflict with Beijing.

National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz offers a deeper dive, reporting that the administration seeks to rebuild American military power while engaging with China to avoid a conflict in the near term. The key, writes Mr. Gertz, is to thwart Chinese military and diplomatic power and prevent Beijing from becoming the dominant regional force.

Mr. Trump has already brought some changes and course adjustments to U.S.-China relations. The defense of Taiwan, once regarded as essential to maintaining freedom and democracy throughout the region, is still considered important but is no longer the linchpin of American strategy. The administration is, however, working to prevent Chinese control over northeast and southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, bolstering regional alliances and allied defense capabilities and saying it does not plan to cut U.S. defense spending. 

Taiwan’s government this week identified 2027 for the first time as the year of a potential Chinese military invasion. The warning comes amid rising tensions between the island democracy and the Communist regime in Beijing, which has recently ramped up its war of nerves against Taiwan by deploying multiple military assets around the island.

Taiwan’s defense minister warned on Wednesday that China’s pre-placement of military forces and equipment as part of drills could provide a launch platform for a swift, surprise invasion.

In Washington, the Trump administration is pushing Taiwan to radically raise its defense spending, while an updated State Department briefing document has dropped traditional diplomatic language about the official U.S. position on Taiwan’s independence.

A federal court sentenced the top manager of the prostitution ring with brothels in suburban Washington, and in Massachusetts to prison this week. Han Lee, 42, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison plus a year of supervised release. Lee, born in South Korea and living in Massachusetts, was found guilty on charges of running the brothels and on money-laundering conspiracy.

National Security Tech Correspondent Ryan Lovelace reports that the clients of the prostitution ring’s Northern Virginia brothels that closed two years ago have yet to suffer legal consequences. The Justice Department listed in 2023 the accused commercial sex buyers at the brothels as elected officials, military officers, government contractors with security clearances and high-tech executives.

Thousands of clients — with a number holding sensitive jobs as politicians and military officers, and others with security clearances — have prompted speculation in Washington that the brothels served as foreign honeypots, or plots to lure the johns to collect valuable classified information.

Christians and other religious minorities in Syria fear the war-torn nation has traded one oppressor for another since the December ouster of longtime dictator Bashar Assad. Fighting between Assad loyalists and opponents in Latakia and Tartus spiraled into sectarian bloodshed last week as Sunni militias stormed the region, threatening Christian and Muslim minorities.

Washington Times culture and faith reporter Emma Ayers has an in-depth look at the situation, writing that new President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that have taken control of most Syria since the Assad government fell seem to not be taking seriously the task of keeping minorities safe.

“You have the Alawite and the Shia. But we also have the Christians, who are the minorities as well,” Brian Orme, acting president of Global Christian Relief, tells Ms. Ayers. “[The Christians] are not part of the conflict whatsoever, but also they are being affected and persecuted as well — and pushed out.”

• March 24 — TotalEnergies’ Energy Outlook: Navigating the Future of Global Energy, Center for Strategic & International Studies

• March 25 — Building America’s Missile Defense Shield, The Heritage Foundation

• March 25 — Coffee & Conversation with CIA’s deputy director of the Open Source Enterprise, INSA

• March 26 — Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment Hearing, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

• March 26 — Bending the Defense Cost Curve, Hudson Institute 

• March 27 — Software-defined Warfare Blueprint, Atlantic Council