u/SharpCartographer831

The United States should start preparing for scenarios where extreme measures must be taken to stop China from achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), according to a former White House official, including state-backed espionage and military strikes on Chinese data centres.

Jacob Stokes, deputy director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), said at an online event on Thursday that various US agencies, including the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency, should begin assessing what intelligence they need to justify taking such actions.“Trying to think through the particulars of that will be especially important, in part because it will help policymakers … start to work backwards based on the unique nature of the technology, in the same way that in a past era, policymakers would learn about nuclear weapons and … work backwards from the science to the policy implications,” he said.

In a new CNAS report published last week, the former Obama administration national security staffer called for the US government to consider the feasibility of diplomatic, espionage, cyber and kinetic measures to prevent China from achieving AGI first.

tl;dr: The White House is setting up a program that would let vetted private U.S. companies carry out offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks on behalf of the government. Operations would require federal approval and oversight, and could include infiltrating, disrupting, degrading, or disabling foreign cyber infrastructure.

According to some reports, Hassabis wanted out of Google, but was convinced to stay over leadership concerns about the public reaction (how the maket would react). I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case. I think it's been pretty obvious that Demis wants to spend more time at Isomorphic Labs, the Chief Scientist/Chair role always seemed more like something that would allow him to leave in a few years imo

I'm curious how this plays out over the next few years. I could see Isomorphic Labs eventually becoming a more independent company, maybe spinout from Alphabet or potentially an IPO.

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Gemini's take...

​Accelerationists and Luddites literally cannot coexist in the same society long-term

​Hear me out on this. We like to think of political and philosophical movements as living on a big, messy spectrum where everyone can eventually "agree to disagree." But when it comes to Accelerationism (pushing technological growth as fast as humanly possible) and Ludditism (slowing down or dismantling tech to protect human safety and culture), coexistence isn't just difficult—it’s structurally impossible.

​Here is why they are on an inevitable collision course:

​Network effects aren't optional: Accelerationism relies on total integration—massive data centers, autonomous energy grids, real-time AI networks, and continuous automation. You can't run a hyper-automated, frictionless society when a sizable chunk of the population is actively trying to opt out of the grid, sabotage infrastructure, or legally block deployment.

​The "opt-out" illusion: Luddites often just want local autonomy—the right to live tech-free or low-tech. But true accelerationism is inherently expansive. Once AI, biotech, or automation hits a critical threshold, its ripple effects (labor market shifts, resource demands, algorithmic governance) force everyone to adapt. There’s no quiet corner of the world left untouched when the baseline environment moves out from under you.

​Incompatible views on survival: To an accelerationist, slowing down tech development is slow-motion suicide—it leaves us vulnerable to disease, climate crises, and stagnation. To a Luddite, speeding tech up is literally building the machine that destroys human agency. When both sides genuinely believe the other’s core philosophy leads directly to extinction, zero-sum conflict is baked in.

​Eventually, one vision has to dominate. You either build the future at breakneck speed, or you draw hard boundaries to preserve human-centric systems. You can't run both scripts on the same operating system.

​TL;DR: Accelerationism requires systemic momentum to work, while Ludditism requires systemic safeguards to survive. In the same society, one side’s baseline progress is the other side’s existential threat.

Agree or disagree?