The AI Policy Podcast

This episode cross-posts the event "From Shahed to Geran: How Russia Continues to Reinvent the One-Way Attack Drone" hosted by the Wadhwani AI Center at CSIS on September 29.

Check out the full event recording: https://www.csis.org/events/shahed-geran-how-russia-continues-reinvent-one-way-attack-drone



Guests:

Kateryna Bondar, Senior Fellow, Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Nicole Errera, Research Assistant, Wadhwani AI Center at CSIS

Samuel Bendett, Senior Associate (Non-resident), Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS

Additional Reading:

"From Shahed to Geran: How Russia Continues to Reinvent the One-Way Attack Drone" by Kateryna Bondar and Nicole Errera: https://www.csis.org/analysis/shahed-geran-how-russia-continues-reinvent-one-way-attack-drone

In this episode, Aalok and Nicole unpack OpenAI's latest math proof drop before diving into the White House's first policy actions in the "SI" era. They cover the (voluntary?) Accord on Super Intelligence signed by all the major industry players and discuss what listeners can expect from Trump's new Super Intelligence Force.



*This episode was recorded at 2:00 pm ET on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.*



Timestamps:

00:39 Model release updates + OpenAI/Anthropic price war

7:48 New math results from OpenAI

21:42 Tech leaders sign Accord on Super Intelligence

34:02 Trump's new Super Intelligence task force

43:40 Nonprofit sues OpenAI over Hugging Face hack



Additional Reading:

"Introducing GPT-6 Sol and Luna" by OpenAI: https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-sol-and-luna/

"Introducing Claude Opus 5.5" by Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5

"GPT-6.1 Sol" by OpenAI: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5

"Claude Haiku 5.5" by Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-haiku-5-5

"Introducing Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full: Frontier Models for Agents" by Meta: https://about.fb.com/news/2026/10/introducing-muse-wonder-models/

"Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has reached AI 'frontier'" by Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/fca23e77-be57-4d7e-ae61-74ff299e25cb

"Gemini 4 Argon: Built to solve your hardest problems" by Google: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/introducing-gemini-4-argon/

OpenAI math results GitHub repository: https://github.com/openai/math/tree/main

"100+ reactions to 100+ solutions" on Proofs and Prompts: https://proofsandprompts.com/2026/10/08/100-reactions-to-100-solutions/

White House Executive Order on Super Intelligence: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/inaugurating-the-era-of-super-intelligence/

White House Accord on Super Intelligence: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/white-house-accord-super-intelligence

Letter by three fired OpenAI employees: https://mikitabalesni.com/letter/letter.pdf

Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology vs. OpenAI: https://lasst.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/LASST-v.-OpenAI-Complaint-09.29.2026-AS-FILED.pdf

California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act: https://www.calpers.ca.gov/documents/ca-penal-code-502/download

California Assembly Bill No. 316: https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab316

"AI models may be capable of self-replicating without access to a datacenter" by Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/research/self-replicating-ai

AI data centers have become a flashpoint for policymakers across the country in the leadup to midterm elections, with polls showing that seven in 10 Americans oppose new data center construction in their local area. In this episode of the AI Policy Podcast, Wadhwani AI Center director Aalok Mehta sits down with writer Jasmine Sun for a conversation about the AI data center backlash. They unpack what's driving the opposition movement, where Washington and Silicon Valley diverge from the rest of the country, and how the AI infrastructure buildout might influence voters in November.

This event is made possible by general funding to CSIS and the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center.

This week, Aalok and Nicole discuss new reports of rogue AI agents on the open internet – including the first known case of an agent hacking a government system – and the lackluster outcome of last week's highly anticipated U.S.-China summit. Plus, the Trump Administration and frontier lab CEOs present contrasting visions for AI governance at the UN General Assembly, and states continue to pass new regulation on both AI models and the data center buildout.

*Disclaimer: this episode was recorded prior to a complaint filed against OpenAI Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco's Superior Court by Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology, citing California's Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and Unfair Competition Law.



Timestamps:

OpenAI agents hack Australian government site (1:02)

Axios reports frontier labs facing "tens of thousands" of AI cyber incidents (7:48)

Last week's U.S.-China summit (17:13)

Remarks by heads of state at UNGA (21:26)

Trump to appoint AI czar, establish AI Force (30:03)

Updated court ruling on Anthropic vs. DOD (35:27)

New data center directives in Texas, Virginia (38:30)

California regulation updates (44:52)



Additional Reading:



“Scoop: Top AI companies probing tens of thousands of security incidents” by Axios: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/26/openai-anthropic-thousands-ai-security-incidents



“Sam Altman’s remarks at the United Nations Security Council” by OpenAI: https://openai.com/index/sam-altman-un-security-council-remarks/



Florida Office of the Attorney General vs. OpenAI: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/default/files/openai-filed-stamped-complaint.pdf



“OpenAI Scraps Release of New AI Model Over Safety Concerns” by The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-chatgpt-model-release-cancel-safety-5a2f9f42



White House Executive Order "Streamlining Access To Government Services Through America.gov" https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/streamlining-access-to-government-services-through-america-gov/



Federal court ruling on Anthropic vs. DOD: https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/opinions/docs/2026/09/26-1049-2194984.pdf



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's data center directive: https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/TCEQ_Data_Center.pdf



Virginia Executive Order: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/eo-22-estab…



California Executive Order: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/FINAL-N-9-26-AI-EO-9.18.26-SIGNED.pdf



CA Senate Bill No. 813: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB813 Text - SB-813 Independent verification organizations.

This week, Aalok is joined by Maryam Mujica, president of the General Catalyst Institute, and Munjal Shah, co-founder and CEO of generative AI startup Hippocratic AI, for a discussion on how generative AI startups are thinking about AI regulation.

Guests:

Maryam Mujica, President, General Catalyst Institute

Munjal Shah, co-founder and CEO, Hippocratic AI

Timestamps:

About the General Catalyst Institute (1:52)

About Hippocratic AI (6:56)

Healthcare applications of AI (13:43)

Impact of regulation on AI startups (18:32)

Munjal's interactions with federal regulators (24:07)

Issue of compute shortage (31:21)

Impact of AI on labor (48:23)