The Exchanges

Q So what's the most surprising or interesting thing you learned so far?

A Well, the amazing thing that I've learned is just the enormous insatiable appetite that the world has for American technology, and just last week we signed a historic deal with the Philippines, 4000 acres, right next to Subic Bay, uh, where we're gonna build a first-of-its-kind AI-native industrial park, and the goal is really to secure inputs that are vital for American and global supply chains. As you know, we are engaged in a massive re-industrialization effort in the US. A lot of those factories depend on so many different inputs that come from all corners of the world, and right now there is a massive over-concentration of those inputs from China, and so the goal is we are walking and chewing gum at the same time. We need to re-industrialize at home while making sure that all the factories that are in Ohio and in Oklahoma and in Virginia actually have all of the inputs and niche Motors and components that they need to keep running and actually being cost competitive. And so we're looking and triaging interest from a number of different companies, um, in order to consider, you know, what the longterm build out is going to look like in the Philippines. And it's very exciting to actually build this out from a first principles and actually create a platform out of it.

AI assessment note: “the amazing thing that I've learned is just the enormous insatiable appetite”

Q these historical theories on why Europe was so dynamic. And I think there's like certain competition that's really good. That was really helpful to it. Obviously you don't want another world war. And so I think because of the world wars, they've kind of like brought everything together, but then, but then somehow it's just totally stagnated. And your mother was, what did she do for the government there earlier?

A Yeah. So she was a web programmer. So she was You know, not really a politician at all. Um, she was a web programmer for, um, the, the, they call them DGs. It's basically like their equivalent of ministries basically for the DG education and culture. Um, she had a very, you know, sort of small, you know, humble job as a programmer there. Um, she was the editor in chief of a magazine in Paris back in the early nineties, but then left the job market for a long time because one of my sister and I were growing up to be a stay at home mom. And so by the time she reentered the workforce, the industry had totally changed. So she actually taught herself how to code, um, at 47, believe it or not, and, uh, and then just became a programmer. And so she was doing that. And I think, you know, like a lot of Europeans, she really wanted to believe in the European projects of the European Union. But I think it's, it's, you know, for people who really remember what Europe was like in the nineties, um, it's really hard to look back at The last 30 years and conclude that Western Europe today is better off than it was 30 years ago.

AI assessment note: “she was a web programmer for, um, the, the, they call them DGs.”

Q And you said, I think there's, there's three core pillars, I guess you say, There's principles, partnership, and policy. Like what, what does that mean?

A Yeah, so we started with the declaration in December, and that declaration was really an articulation of our first principles. Principles that we share, you know, what are the, the core, the North Star that we want to work towards, and, um, and the things that are really going to bind us together. And so obviously there's a lot of clauses in there about having a pro-innovation approach to regulation, Um, there's a lot on supply chain security and the, the protection of critical infrastructure. Um, then we want to basically, you know, take that, those principles and say, okay, how do we translate this into action? And so we decided to, uh, set up two work streams, one on policy and one on, on projects. Um, the one on projects are the products that I mentioned earlier, the idea of having, you know, three or four different, Key flagship project projects that, um, we want to productize and roll out to, you know, the rest of the Pax Ilica ecosystem. And then policy workflows are, you know, conversations that we have to have around the protection of an intellectual property, the protection of sensitive technology, critical infrastructure, and the promotion of an AI friendly regulation agenda.

AI assessment note: “we started with the declaration in December, and that declaration was really an articulation”

Q Oh, it makes sense. Well, Jacob, you worked at Google in the past. Uh, I think it was the US China Economic Security Commission at Brookings. You were at Palantir for a little bit. Yeah. How did these shape your interests right now? I guess, so you're working a lot on AI. Is it, do those, does that kind of lead into that?

A Yeah. So it's interesting because, um, so I worked at Google Right when, you know, tech policy became a thing, um, it really wasn't seen as, uh, a field, you know, uh, uh, uh, uh, an issue worth, you know, a big topic of discussion, um, uh, until about, you know, the mid to late 20 tens, basically. And then, you know, there was just all sorts of tech policy debates that started emerging. Um, and then joining Palantir really, you know, helped me Uh, gave me a window into these two huge trends, you know, the AI revolution and the global rearmament that is taking place around the world, uh, and how technology is changing hard power. And it's really fascinating because it really shows how, um, the asymmetric nature of technology and how you can have, you know, really small, I mean, for a long time, our, our foreign policy debates were dominated by very linear thinking. So people said, you know, Um, China has 1.4 billion people, therefore they will inevitably, you know, become the largest economy because if, you know, you just, if their, um, uh, GDP per capita, you know, rises remotely close to ours, obviously they're gonna overtake us by a lot. But that school of thought had a fundamental flaw, which is it didn't factor in for the asymmetric power of technology. The, it's true that China will catch up to us if you assume that we live in a world where the, the prevailing, uh, econom…

AI assessment note: “joining Palantir really, you know, helped me Uh, gave me a window into these two huge trends”

Q How do you assess China's capabilities in the AI race?

A So, you know, it's interesting because China is, without a doubt, our, our most formidable competitor. They, their superpower is their incredibly deep manufacturing ecosystem. With that being said, our software companies are better by a lot. I mean, it's, we are objectively leading in, in AI, um, and in model development. Um, you know, China has a lot of problems. They, uh, they're at a macroeconomic level. Their economy is really not doing well. Um, they are decelerating at home. You know, their data is really falsified, and they actually tried to hide their books, uh, so much so that they've made it illegal for people within China to ask too many questions or do due diligence on their economic indicators.

AI assessment note: “China is, without a doubt, our, our most formidable competitor.”

Q Good ally. Uh, so, so you get to work closely with some interesting characters. Uh, what's it like working with, with Marco Rubio?

A You know, he has really set an example of professionalism at the department. The department is incredibly well run. We have no leaks. We are a very low drama department. Everyone is heads down, focused on advancing the president's agenda. Um, we have, you know, had an incredibly successful tenure. I mean, the operation in Venezuela was incredibly historic in terms of Regaining influence in our hemisphere. Um, and we are actually raising all of the right and hard questions with Europe, um, which are really overdue. I went to Europe, as you know, I lived in Europe, 18 years, and when my mother worked at the European Commission, believe it or not, and I, I, so I went back to Brussels a few weeks ago, and I told them, you know, um, it, when you really love someone, the, and someone who's sick, The empathetic thing to do is actually tell them that you're worried about them and that they're not doing well. Um, it is not, there's nothing empathetic about self-denial and pretending like everything is completely fine when it's clearly not. And the reality is we are Europe's only ally who cares about them enough to be willing to have those hard, uncomfortable conversations. And so I think that message was generally quite well received. Um, Europe has not grown meaningfully in over a generation, and everyone can see it, and you travel around the world. I, you know, I've certainly talked t…

AI assessment note: “he has really set an example of professionalism at the department.”