About the event: The 4th Annual Geopolitics of Technology in East Asia conference examines the intersection of technology and geopolitics in the region and the implications for international security, innovation, and economic prosperity. We will convene a series of panels on topics relating to AI innovation and diffusion in East Asia, AI capabilities as a source of national power for countries in the region, and the shifting geopolitics of economic security among the U.S., Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Agenda:

9:20 AM — Welcome

9:30 AM — Harnessing the Potential of AI: National Perspectives on Diffusion and Regulation
Governments are grappling with how to encourage the rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence within their domestic economies while ensuring that its deployment aligns with societal values, economic goals, and security priorities.  The Trump administration recently weighed in with an AI Action Plan that embraces diffusion and shuns regulation. How are the Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese approaching this optimization problem? What are the political, economic, and cultural drivers animating policy debates on AI in these countries? Are some of these countries better positioned to take advantage of AI's benefits than others? What are the implications for global cooperation on AI governance?

Moderator: Martin Chorzempa, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Panelists:
Ahram Moon, Research Fellow, Korea Information Society Development Institute
Sejin Kim, Associate Director, Center for Korean Innovation and Competitiveness, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Tagui Ichikawa, Specially Appointed Professor, Center for Data Science and AI Education, Institute of Science Tokyo

11:00 AM — Break

11:15 AM — The Geopolitics of Computing Power
Computing power is an essential requirement for developing AI capabilities and using them at scale. It is therefore a potential bottleneck for the ability of countries to support AI innovation and diffusion within their domestic economies and for military, intelligence, and law enforcement purposes. The Biden administration, working with key allies, instituted a series of export controls on advanced semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The Trump administration initially signaled continuity when it imposed export controls on NVIDIA's H20 chip, but later reversed course. What is the logic behind this move? Do other countries with key roles in the global semiconductor supply chain--such as Korea, Japan, and Taiwan--share this logic? What factors are shaping regional perspectives on the relationship between computing power and national power? How does China perceive these dynamics?

Moderator: Colin Kahl, Stanford University

Panelists:
Glenn Tiffert, Distinguished Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Kazuto Suzuki, Director & Group Head (Economic Security), Institute of Geoeconomics; Professor, University of Tokyo
Suh-Yong Chung, Professor, Korea University

12:45 PM — Lunch

1:45 PM — Technology and Great Power Competition: Views from the Region
The consensus in Washington, DC is that the United States and its allies  in East Asia—Japan, Korea, and Taiwan—are locked in a great power competition with China about the future of the international security and economic orders, with technology competition as an essential pillar of the contest. Do U.S. allies share this assessment? Or do they consider the competition primarily Washington's problem? What is their outlook on how best to manage their relationships with China and the United States?

Moderator: Graham Webster, Stanford University

Panelists:
Jeremy Chang, Executive Director, Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET)
Kemy Monahan, Former Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Tokyo; Visiting Scholar, Stanford University
Ji-Young Lee, Professor, American University

3:15 PM — Break

3:30 PM — Economic Security in the Trump Age: Is Friendshoring Over?
Economic security has emerged as a major priority for many governments who are concerned about their country's exposure to economic coercion as a result of import dependencies on essential materials and technologies. In recent years, the U.S. and its allies have identified "friend-shoring"--relocating supply chains and production to countries that are geopolitical allies or trusted partners--as an important dimension of their economic security policies. Since taking office, however, the Trump administration has waged an aggressive campaign of trade tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including against allies, to pressure them to build manufacturing capacity in the United States. How have these actions affected allied perspectives on economic security? What does friend-shoring mean to them?

Moderator: AJ Grotto, Stanford University

Panelists:
Kazuto Suzuki, Director & Group Head (Economic Security), Institute of Geoeconomics; Professor, University of Tokyo
Chung-Min Lee, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Jane Mellsop, Director, Trade, Investment and Economic Security, Asia Society Policy Institute
 

5:00 PM — Wrap-up