Seven Kings | Silicon World Order | 02

Why would we need a treaty on AI weapons? Anna Hehir is head of military AI governance at the Future of Life Institute and she’s been observing multilateral efforts to regulate automated weapon systems, before it's too late. It’s not so much the killer robots – but rather, humans relinquishing control over targeting for lethal attacks. When you fire at 1000 targets a day and then you hit a school, you can just point your finger at the algorithm. AI allows human responsibility to fade away, she says. The UN gave countries until the end of 2026 to come up with wording for a treaty on AI weapons. Most  governments want to regulate automatic weapon systems and prohibit the most unpredictable ones, but there are several powerful holdouts. Which countries are getting in the way of a treaty, and why? Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected] we refer to:Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical this year stressed the dangers of autonomous weapons systems, including algorithmic decision-making and the detachment of human responsibility. The Pope and the Vatican has been influential in the push to regulate and control AI weapons.Washington Post investigation that Anna refers to about how the US and Russia weakened a range of safeguards that had emerged from the U.N. effort to try to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry. 

Henry Farrell on the political economy of AI: the industry’s social potential, and the menace it creates. Farrell identifies two questions to address when thinking about AI industry actors: What is their project? And what is the likely outcome of it? Henry Farrell is a professor working on democracy and international affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He’s published a number of books, most recently Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy.Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected] info and texts we refer to:Reigning in Our Tech God Emperors - Essay in Democracy Journal https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/76/reining-in-our-tech-god-emperors/Large AI models are cultural and social technologies - article Henry Farrell co-authored: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt9819AI as Social Technology - essay by Henry and Cosma Rohilla Shalizi; Knight Center at Columbia University, May 2026Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West By William Crononhttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/75243.Nature_s_MetropolisHenry’s NYT op-ed on how defunding social sciences has rendered society unable to understand AI (with Alison Gopnik and James Evans), September 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/opinion/ai-social-sciences.htmlThe Public and its Problems - by political philosopher John Dewy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Public_and_Its_Problemshttps://substack.com/@henryfarrellhttps://henryfarrell.net/

AI is materially changing financial markets, the economy, energy systems and  emissions, and geopolitics including China-US tensions. The second season of The Polycrisis - Silicon World Order -  starts with the question of how to make sense of AI, and if we can make it work better for us. There are striking similarities and contrasts between how society has been dealing with climate and how it’s been dealing with AI so far. In this first episode we focus on that comparison and look at AI through the lens of climate change. In this intro episode we overview the themes and guests you'll hear from throughout Silicon World Order.Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]

The AI boom is not the investment boom we wanted. Can we make it work for us better?The issues raised by AI are daunting, and are a potentially dangerous distraction from other challenges facing humanity.We’ll look at AI as a site of geopolitical rivalry, as a source of new military systems and as a climate threat. Will AI be good for development? Will it be an engine for economic prosperity or a dangerous financial bubble?Episodes released weekly from Wednesday, October 28. Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate MacKenzie, and Tim Sahay from the net zero industrial policy lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany Stewart

In this final bonus season episode, Kate and Tim reflect on the morality of focusing on the "co-benefits" of war, and whether they are techno-optimists or techno-pessimists. Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]:Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma: Why Distributive Conflict, Not Collective Action, Characterizes the Politics of Climate Change - (Global Environmental Politics, Nov 2020 edition)Chartbook - Adam Tooze on Substack. Tooze has a new book coming out soon, Carbon, which Tim refers to in this episode. Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of History at Columbia University and serves as Director of the European Institute. 

The Polycrisis is sharing some episodes from other podcasts around the world while we develop our next season.This episode is from the Brazilian ClimaInfo podcast . It's about how Brazil has become a focal point in the global race for green industrialisation, and what that means for the future of the second largest economy in the Americas. We hear from Tulio Cariello of the Brazil-China Business Council and The Polycrisis' Tim Sahay.Brazil's new green developmental strategy requires delicate negotiations with China. It also means contending with the US – which wants to impose carbon dominance across the entire American hemisphere, rewarding countries that support its vision and punishing those that don’t. The Polycrisis is hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]

The Polycrisis team’s taking a short break, we’ll be back next week. In the meantime we’re sharing an episode from NuVoices where they interview Kate Mackenzie. NuVoices host Solarina Ho asks Kate whether the topic of climate change has been weaponised amid the US-China trade war. Also how the global rush to electric vehicles served global needs, both strategically and environmentally. Kate shares her insights into the latest trend of climate collaboration, renewable energy development, and how we could save our planet at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.This podcast episode originally appeared on nuvoices.com on June 3, 2026. NuVoices is an international editorial collective. It celebrates and supports the diverse creative work of women and other underrepresented communities working on the subject of China (broadly defined).The Polycrisis is hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]

The Polycrisis team’s having a short break, so we’re sharing a couple of episodes from other podcasts that are very relevant to our themes. Chinese EVs are just beginning to arrive in Canada this week; but – as we wrote back in January – the more significant element was Carney’s government making a promise to Canada’s own auto manufacturers: that they could attract new investment and tech from Chinese car companies. And that would lessen their deep reliance upon the US car industry and market – which is doubling down on highly polluting  internal combustion engines, while most of the rest of the world moves rapidly towards electric vehicles.   This episode is from our friends at The Wire China. It was recorded in April before Trump visited Beijing. Contact us at: [email protected]:Canada's new non-alignmentSome of The Polycrisis thoughts on Canada’s strategy to do the seemingly impossible task of decoupling from the US. Yes, it’s going to be painful, and building a coalition to endure that pain is part of Mark Carney’s plan, as demonstrated in his Davos speech.China’s Connected Vehicles Widen the U.S.-Canada DisconnectA Chinese EV maker that is expanding in Canada has ties to a U.S.-sanctioned surveillance company, illustrating the data and security risks connected vehicles pose.Mercantilism and stabilizationSmelling the roses in the weaponized world economy - more from The PolycrisisAutomakers back Trump plan to roll back fuel economy rules, but seek changesAlliance for Automotive Innovation backs reduction in stringency proposed by NHTSA. Alliance asks NHTSA to not eliminate credit trading to meet regulatory requirements.

US-China relations have evolved because of the Middle East war. Trump recently made the first presidential visit to China in nine years. So what are the implications for energy and international development? And why it's not so much a  “China shock” but a “China Squeeze”.Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]:Several episodes in our first season featured China-US experts:EP 1 The quiet revolution included Kyle Chan from Brookings.EP 4 Manufacturing Chimerica with Jessica Chen-Weiss and Jake Werner. Jessica Chen-Weiss also wrote an op-ed for the Financial Times this week A Cold Peace between the US and China is good enough and featured on CNN discussing where the US China relationship is headed Jake Werner's piece referred to is here A New Opening for US-China relations (Quincy)Relevant Polycrisis essays: Conscious Uncoupling , Mercantilist Deals of the Great Powers - three views on technology, decouplers, cooperationists, centrists

Why exactly is this 2026 energy shock so different from the 1970s & 2022 shocks? Kate and Tim discuss our current energy security landscape, and outline some of the arguments made in their recent Polycrisis essay, just published with Phenomenal World. They also look at whether it matters that financial markets are becoming re-enthused about renewable energy.Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate Mackenzie, and Tim Sahay from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. Produced by Sarah AllelyOriginal music by Russell StapletonMixed by Bethany StewartContact us at: [email protected]:Dawn of the Electric World Order: Global shockwaves from the war on Iran are accelerating the energy transition - The Polycrisis  May 8, 2026Investors pile into clean power as Iran war drives push for energy security - Financial Times, May 3, 2026 China's Green Tech Firms Target New Consumers Hit by Iran War Energy Shock - Bloomberg News, May 11, 2026Chinese Electrotech is the Big Winner in the Iran War - Paul Krugman's Substack - April 14, 2026Ember Global Electricity Review 2025 - Record renewables growth led by solar helped push clean power past 40% of global electricity in 2024, but heatwave-related demand spikes led to a small increase in fossil generation.