Martijn Rasser
@martijnrasser.bsky.social
Vice President at the Special Competitive Studies Project
While skeptics say an independent AI regulator would be captured, the June Mythos episode shows that without one, outcomes are shaped by personality and political pressure. warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/...
America Needs an Off-Ramp Between Doing Nothing and Shutting AI Down
For 18 days in June, two of America’s most capable AI models went dark worldwide, not for technical or business reasons, but because the U.S. government
warontherocks.com
“What would Republicans have said if the Biden crowd acquired government stakes in companies with ties to its friends and family? Well, that’s more or less what the Trump team is doing to little political objection. State capitalism and political cronyism are in fashion…” www.wsj.com/opinion/usa-...
Opinion | Crony Socialism and Rare Earths
Government stakes in companies is the wrong way to beat China.
wsj.com
“Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of 1 million satellites that will orbit Earth and harness the sun to power AI data centers, according to a filing at the Federal Communications Commission.” - www.reuters.com/business/aer...
SpaceX seeks FCC nod for solar-powered satellite data centers for AI
Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of 1 million satellites that will orbit Earth and harness the sun to power AI data centers, according to a filing at the Federal Communications Commi...
reuters.com
Anthropic-Pentagon Clash Over Limits on AI Puts $200 Million Contract at Risk www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
Anthropic-Pentagon Clash Over Limits on AI Puts $200 Million Contract at Risk
The AI startup and defense officials disagreed over whether the technology would be used for autonomous “lethal” operations and surveillance.
wsj.com
An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/t...
An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End
nytimes.com
2026 NDS word count: Taiwan - 0 Greenland - 5 Russia - 14 China - 22 "Trump" - 50+
2026 NDS: "Supercharge the defense industrial base." Also 2026 NDS: No mention of semiconductors. No export controls. No critical minerals. No workforce. No updated NDIS. Acquisition speed isn't an industrial strategy. You can't supercharge what you haven't mapped.
Unlike traditional benchmarks, Pokémon allows AI models to demonstrate reasoning, decision-making and long-term goal progression, mirroring complex real-world tasks. www.wsj.com/articles/how...
How Playing Pokémon Became the Ultimate Test of AI’s Intelligence
Nintendo’s original Pokémon games are becoming a popular and strangely effective way to test and benchmark new artificial-intelligence models. “We’re all a whole bunch of nerds,” said the man behind t...
wsj.com
Trump’s lesson in how to turn U.S. allies into China’s friends. www.wsj.com/opinion/the-... via @WSJopinion
Opinion | The Greenland War of 2026
Trump’s lesson in how to turn U.S. allies into China’s friends.
wsj.com
When China wants to intimidate its rivals, it has an extensive—and often menacing—playbook to draw from www.wsj.com/world/china/...
China’s Propaganda Playbook for Targeting Rivals
China’s state propaganda machine has a toolbox for undermining leaders that includes fake opinion polls, “lawfare” and general character assassination.
wsj.com
Nvidia must meet new security requirements before sending its H200 artificial-intelligence chips to China www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump Administration Enacts Security Rules for Nvidia’s China Chip Sales
The chip designer and its customers must satisfy security requirements before exports are approved.
wsj.com
US to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths www.reuters.com/business/ene...
US to push for quicker action in reducing reliance on China for rare earths
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will urge Group of Seven nations and others to step up their efforts to reduce reliance on critical minerals from China when he hosts a dozen top finance official...
reuters.com
“I would be very cautious about any predictions because we don’t know the full scope of adoption or the rate of change. What’s also not really accounted for is how jobs can change in place versus automation away from jobs.” www.straitstimes.com/world/as-ai-...
As AI adoption rises, job fears grow across the US
Explore how the rapid rise in AI adoption is fueling job fears across the US economy, impacting various sectors and prompting calls for reskilling. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitst...
straitstimes.com
New role, same mission. I'm now leading SCSP's Technology Leadership Directorate as Vice President—working with an amazing team to ensure America stays ahead in the technologies that will define this century. More to come on what we're building at the Special Competitive Studies Project!
🧵 1/ The real significance of events in Venezuela for oil is less about reserves and more about refining capacity and geopolitical positioning. The potential boon for U.S. oil companies? Refining Venezuelan crude (caveat: depends on sanctions relief and production ramp-up).
"Enhe’s primary school does not teach Russian, the kind of omission that Mr. Putin has denounced as an intolerable violation of ethnic Russians’ rights in countries like Ukraine and the Baltic States." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/w...
China’s Russian Town Has Log Cabins and Cyrillic Signs, but No Russians
nytimes.com
President Donald Trump on Friday blocked U.S. photonics firm HieFo Corp's $3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore, citing national security and China-related concerns. - www.reuters.com/world/china/...
Trump blocks chips deal, cites security, China-related concerns
President Donald Trump on Friday blocked U.S. photonics firm HieFo Corp's $3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore, citing national security and Chi...
reuters.com
In Ukraine, a New Arsenal of Killer A.I. Drones Is Being Born www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/m...
In Ukraine, a New Arsenal of Killer A.I. Drones Is Being Born
nytimes.com
Reunification ‘is unstoppable’, says Chinese president, a day after the conclusion of intense military drills www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Xi Jinping vows to reunify China and Taiwan in New Year’s Eve speech
Reunification ‘is unstoppable’, says Chinese president, a day after the conclusion of intense military drills
theguardian.com
Inside China’s Six-Decade Campaign to Dominate Rare Earths www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/b...
Inside China’s Six-Decade Campaign to Dominate Rare Earths
nytimes.com
China says what happens with Taiwan is none of Japan’s business. The reality is that an invasion of Taiwan would have immense stakes for Japan. These maps show why www.wsj.com/world/asia/c... via @wsj.com
See How a Chinese Attack on Taiwan Would Be Japan’s Problem
In a conflict, Taipei’s fate would become quickly intertwined with the U.S.-Japan security alliance.
wsj.com
Three months, 19,687 nautical miles: One ship’s journey epitomizes a moment of peak globalization www.wsj.com/articles/thr...
Three Months, 19,687 Nautical Miles: This Lengthy Trade Route Is Peak Globalization
A Chinese ship sails the long way around the world to deliver cranes to the U.S. Gulf Coast and Jamaica.
wsj.com
China issues drafts rules to regulate AI with human-like interaction - www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
China issues drafts rules to regulate AI with human-like interaction
China's cyber regulator on Saturday issued draft rules for public comment that would tighten oversight of artificial intelligence services designed to simulate human personalities and engage users in ...
reuters.com
Quite the Hail Mary. Goes to show you how significant this space tech gap is. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
China eases IPO rules for firms developing reusable rockets
Chinese companies developing reusable commercial rockets will have access to a fast lane for initial public offerings on the tech-heavy STAR market that exempts them from some financial requirements, ...
reuters.com
Despite billions in investment, humanoid robot startups say androids still face daunting technical challenges before they move from science experiments to a replacement for human workers www.wsj.com/tech/ai/huma... via @wsj.com
Even the Companies Making Humanoid Robots Think They’re Overhyped
Despite billions of dollars in investment, startups say their androids can only perform simple tasks.
wsj.com
More than 280 astronauts and cosmonauts have visited the ISS, and it has now been continuously occupied for 25 years. If you were born after 2 November 2000, for your entire life, there has always been someone living in space. www.bbc.com/future/artic...
All you need to know about the International Space Station's 25 years in orbit
The International Space Station (ISS) is humanity's most expensive object and has been in orbit for 25 years. Read its fascinating history, told in 25 numbers.
bbc.com
Ten former Samsung employees arrested for industrial espionage charges for giving China chipmaker 10nm tech — executives and researchers allegedly leaked DRAM technology to China-based CXMT, resulting in trillions of losses in Korean Won www.tomshardware.com/tech-industr...
Ten former Samsung employees arrested for industrial espionage charges for giving China chipmaker 10nm tech — executives and researchers allegedly leaked DRAM technology to China-based CXMT, resulting...
This involves more individuals than in previous cases
tomshardware.com
China’s tech gains are coming at a steep cost, with the state’s heavy-handedness in directing investments wasting colossal amounts of money www.wsj.com/world/china/...
China’s Sprint for Tech Dominance Can’t Hide an Economy Full of Holes
A self-sufficiency push has made China a tougher competitor to the U.S., but it comes with enormous waste.
wsj.com
Surprising biomedical application found for ASML’s chipmaking EUV lithography machines — they can mass produce nanopores for molecular sensing www.tomshardware.com/tech-industr...
Surprising biomedical application found for ASML’s chipmaking EUV lithography machines — they can mass produce nanopores for molecular sensing
Nanopores are useful for precisely determining molecule size, shape, charge, and more.
tomshardware.com
Beijing is now the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, trailing only the U.S., France, and Russia. www.wsj.com/world/china/... via @wsj.com
How China Built an Arms Industry to Rival the West
China's ability to churn out advanced armaments is a key element in Xi Jinping’s vision of making his country less reliant on the outside world.
wsj.com