National Security Law Today

As the nation grieves the passing of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, she is remembered not just for her groundbreaking work within the Court, but also as a dedicated and passionate civic educator. This week host Elisa is joined by Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker and Suzanne Spaulding to discuss Justice O’Connor's legacy, her impact on civics educat...

The clock is ticking fast for reauthorization of FISA Section 702. With several proposed bills on the table and lack of consensus within Congress, the fate of this surveillance tool is at this time unclear. This week, host Elisa is joined by Glenn Gerstell and Adam Hickey to discuss the security value of Section 702, its strengths and weaknesses, and how clashing views behind privacy and data coll...

In November, the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security hosted its 33rd Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law Conference, featuring a special keynote address from former CIA director and former Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus. Together with ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security Chair, Stephen Preston, General Petraeu...

With a history that spans over 300 years, how and when did the U.S.-Iran relationship shift from amicable to adversarial? This week, host Elisa is joined by John Ghazvinian, Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania and author of America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present. John delves into the intricate tapestry of Iran and America's interconnected past,...

To gain a deeper understanding into today's conflicts within the Middle East, our focus sharpens on two pivotal forces: Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose roles hold paramount significance in shaping the region's contemporary landscape. This week host Elisa revisits two key conversations from our archive. First, Dr. Roham Alvandi of the London School of Economics and Political Science discusses the shif...

On October 30th, President Biden issued Executive Order 14110, setting forth a comprehensive artificial intelligence framework focused on unifying the federal approach to AI regulation. This week, host Elisa is joined by ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force Co-Chairs Roland Trope and Adriana Luedke to discuss the details of the new executive order, how it aims to safeguard consumers and workers from...

This November 16th and 17th, the ABA Standing Standing Committee on Law and National Security will host their 33rd Annual Review of The Field of National Security Law CLE Conference. This yearly conference is a premier event, bringing together distinguished legal professionals, scholars, and practitioners in the field of national security law. In this week's episode, host Elisa is joined by Stephe...

Hamas' coordinated attacks on Israel on the morning of October 7th mark a terrorizing and significant turning point in the Israeli-Palestinian war. This week, host Elisa is joined by Matthew Levitt, a decades long Hamas and terrorism expert, to unpack the foundations of Hamas, how they came to be, how they operate, and what the regional and global response might tell us about the road ahead. Matth...

Since its inception, cryptocurrency has fueled the growth of digital black markets, opening doors for criminal transactions while masking bad actor identities. But what if these currencies weren't so cryptic after all? This week host Elisa is joined by Andy Greenberg, senior writer for WIRED, to discuss his recent book, Tracers in the Dark, and his in-depth reporting on black market operations and...

Kindly be aware that this podcast was recorded before the conflict in Israel occurred. In this week's special two-part episode, host Elisa is joined first by Dimitri Alperovitch, cybersecurity thought-leader, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, to discuss global power dynamics, Russia, China, and how the U.S. can lessen its dependence on adversary nations. Next,...

The FBI's most controversial surveillance tool, FISA Section 702, is up for reauthorization this year. Supporters of 702 argue that it is vital for national security and counterterrorism efforts, while critics warn that it allows for warrantless surveillance of Americans leading to potential violations of the Fourth Amendment. This week, host Elisa is joined by Liza Goitein, nationally-recognized...

Part 2 of 2 – Today, American intellectual property, trade secrets and data holdings have never been more at risk. The United States is being bombarded by cyber attacks, and experts predict the global annual cost of cyber crime to top $8 trillion in 2023 alone. This week, host Elisa is joined by Michael McLaughlin, cybersecurity expert and Principal for Government Relations at Buchanan Ingersoll &...

Today, American intellectual property, trade secrets and data holdings have never been more at risk. The United States is being bombarded by cyber attacks, and experts predict the global annual cost of cyber crime to top $8 trillion in 2023 alone. This week, host Elisa is joined by Michael McLaughlin, cybersecurity expert and Principal for Government Relations at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. In pa...

Biological. Chemical. Radiological. When most people think of Weapons of Mass Destruction, or WMDs, they often think of nuclear capabilities and atomic weapons. How will AI development and its catastrophic potential on the battlefield shape the global understanding and control of WMD’s? This week, host Elisa is joined by David Koplow, arms control expert and Professor of Law at Georgetown Universi...

Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act is up for reauthorization later this year. What has long been a key surveillance tool, Section 702 now faces controversy over whether its powers are too broad. Is Section 702 granting excessive authority to intelligence officers, or is its framework, along with its limitations, simply misunderstood? This week, host Elisa is joined by Joshua...

Could you tell whether this Program Description was written by an AI app? Most of us couldn’t. With the emergence of ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Bing AI, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. Lawyers, law firms, and academia have embraced AI in a high-profile way – with AI systems passing law school exams, reviewing evidence, and nearly actively representing a client. With the increasing u...

How has our knowledge of AI and our awareness of its potential progressed in the past 5 years? This week, we’re going back to the vault to re-air one of our first AI related episodes, featuring Michael Page, former Policy and Ethics advisor at OpenAI. Michael Page is the former Policy and Ethics Advisor at OpenAI: https://cset.georgetown.edu/staff/michael-page/ Stewart Baker is Of Counsel at Stept...

On August 9, the Biden Administration issued a long-awaited Executive Order outlining controls on U.S. investments in certain Chinese entities related to national security. With a focus on "sensitive technologies," this EO aims to curtail both direct and indirect investments within China's advanced tech sectors, including semiconductors, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligenc...

Is there hope for an open, rule-bound and balanced global AI ecosystem? This week, host Elisa is joined by Klon Kitchen, national security and defense technology expert at the American Enterprise Institute. Klon unpacks the U.S.–China rivalry in the race for AI dominance, China's growing defense industrial complex, and the pros and cons that come with increasing AI competition in the national secu...

By the day it is becoming increasingly difficult to decipher AI content from human generated content. With the power to shape narratives across the globe, are these AI models and the content generated from them an immediate threat to our media ecosystem? This week host Elisa is joined by technologist and national security expert Doowan Lee. Together they explore the fundamental principles of gener...

This week, we're airing a recent discussion from the Women in National Security Law Webinar Program featuring Lala Qadir, incoming Chair of the Advisory Committee of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security and Principal Assistant Director and Chief of Staff of the National Security Division at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Together with Moderator Margret...

Who's the highest ranking spy in U.S. history that nobody knows about? This week, host Elisa is joined by national security expert Howard W. Cox to discuss the themes and lessons from his book, American Traitor: General Wilkinson's Betrayal of the Republic and Escape from Justice. Together they dive into the notorious career of Gen. James Wilkinson, whose corruption and espionage exposed the Unite...

If the runaway success of tools like ChatGPT have taught us anything, it's that the world is ready to embrace AI. But are the policies and regulations ready to tackle the risks? Continuing our series on generative AI, this week host Elisa is joined by Matthew Ferraro, emerging technology expert and Counsel at Wilmer Hale. Matthew dives in, demystifying the terminology surrounding these tools while...

Recent political developments have damaged the reputation of the intelligence community and have deeply divided the country. Some say that the recent performance of the intelligence community, and particularly the FBI, has battered its reputation for avoiding partisanship. Reports by Robert Mueller, John Durham, and multiple inspectors general have fostered suspicions that the Trump-Russia investi...

Can you spot a real from a fake? To kick off our new series on the AI revolution, host Elisa is joined by Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen, to discuss the rapid advancement of AI generated deep fakes and how false manipulations could impact public perception in the upcoming election cycle. Together, they shed light on how the rapid advancement of AI tools has outpaced the development o...