The last big story right before the war in Iran started was the collapse in the relationship between the Pentagon and Anthropic, with the latter objecting to any potential use of its models in either fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. Of course, this story immediately become more relevant with the start of the war, and the reporting that Anthropic's technology was in fact utilized at the start of hostilities. But what does that mean? How are these models used? And what would a fully autonomous weapons system actually entail? On this episode, we speak with Paul Scharre, the executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security. He has written two books on the subject of AI in warfare, and previously worked inside the Department of Defense on some of these very questions. We discuss the future of autonomous weaponry, and the various ethical and technological dimensions such weapons would entail.
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There have been decades of attempts to make destructive drones, going back to World War I. The technology has advanced significantly since then. Drones now range in size from tiny — as in, fitting in the palm of your hand — to so big they look like little planes.
Stacie Pettyjohn directs the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. She spoke with Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes about how drones are being used in the war between Iran, Israel and the U.S., including Iran’s Shahed-136 drone.
The recent Wall Street Journal article that claimed Hamas raised $130 million via cryptocurrency has sparked considerable debate, especially after Sen. Elizabeth Warren used it as her sole source to ask for tighter regulations around crypto. However, the veracity of this claim has come under scrutiny.
Yaya Fanusie, Jessi Brooks, and Andrew Fierman delve into the veracity of reported figures, the methodology behind them, and the subsequent industry responses that sought to correct the public record. They examine the political implications of cryptocurrency, its use in funding organizations, and the nuanced role of stablecoins in this digital economy. Additionally, they address the broader challenges in regulating crypto to prevent illicit funding, emphasizing the need for factual accuracy and a comprehensive approach to understanding and tackling such complex issues.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
how the Wall Street Journal article claimed that Hamas and other militant groups in Palestine raised $130 million via crypto
why Yaya, who spent some time in his career doing research on terrorist financing, found those numbers odd
why Jessi believes that there's been a loss of focus on facts and accuracy
Andrew's explanation of the post by Chainalysis that corrected the record
why it's so difficult to make a confident assessment of how much money is being funneled to terrorist groups
whether crypto has become politicized
why is it so important to focus not only on the crypto fundraising but also the other avenues, according to Jessi
the role of USDT and other stablecoins in fundraising terrorist organizations
how North Korea is a much more sophisticated actor than Hamas in its know-how about crypto
how the government has tried to respond to the illicit usage of crypto, such as the OFAC sanctions on Tornado cash
the challenges to creating regulations to prevent the use of illicit activity in crypto
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
LayerZero
Popcorn Network
Guests:
Yaya Fanusie, Director of anti-money laundering and cyber risk at the Crypto Council for Innovation
Previous appearance on Unchained: How Widespread Is Money Laundering in Crypto?
Hamas has been experimenting with crypto for years: Yaya Fanusie, appearance on FOX Business
Jessi Brooks, CCO and Legal Officer at Ribbit Capital
Previous appearance on Unchained: How This DOJ Strike Force Hunts Down Cryptocurrency Criminals
Andrew Fierman, Head of Sanctions Strategy at Chainalysis
Links
Fundraising report and corrections:
WSJ:
Hamas Militants Behind Israel Attack Raised Millions in Crypto
Cryptocurrency Feeds Hamas’s Terrorism
Questioning Two Senators on Crypto Terrorism
Washington Post:
U.S. to warn crypto firms against financing Hamas, terror groups
U.S. Cyber Command helps prosecutors seize stolen cryptocurrency traced to illicit N. Korea nuclear weapons program
FT: Israel orders freeze on crypto accounts in bid to block funding for Hamas
Fortune: Stricter verification laws in the U.S. won’t stop international terrorists from using crypto
DOJ: Global Disruption of Three Terror Finance Cyber-Enabled Campaigns
Elliptic:
Setting the record straight on crypto crowdfunding by Hamas
How Hamas has utilized crypto, and what may be coming
Chainalysis:
Cryptocurrency and Terrorism Financing: Correcting the Record
DOJ Takedowns Terrorism Financing with Blockchain Analysis
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U.S. and E.U. countries have unveiled extraordinarily tough sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. But what effect will they have? Are they tough enough? And will Russia feel a significant amount of pain as long as the sanctions don't include energy? On this episode, we speak with sanctions researcher Edoardo Saravalle about the existing sanctions, their power, what more can be done, and what history says about how they will work.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yaya Fanusie, director of analysis at the Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Tom Robinson, chief data officer and cofounder of blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, discuss how common money laundering is in crypto, how jihadist groups are using it, and how privacy coins (really Monero) affect their work. (The reason why the dark markets haven't much used Zcash surprised me.) We also discuss bad state actors using cryptocurrency, such as Venezuela's efforts with the metro and North Korea's alleged Bitcoin ransomware attacks, and how, leaving aside bad state actors, central bank cryptocurrencies would compete with decentralized ones. Plus, we discuss what impact OFAC blocked addresses list will have.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Preciate: https://preciate.org
Quantstamp: https://quantstamp.com
Yaya Fanusie: https://twitter.com/SignCurve
Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/csif
Tom Robinson: https://twitter.com/tomrobin
Elliptic: http://www.elliptic.co
Yaya and Tom's report on Bitcoin laundering: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/documents/MEMO_Bitcoin_Laundering.pdf
New AML regulations on cryptocurrencies in Europe: https://www.elliptic.co/our-thinking/5th-aml-directive-eu-regulation-cryptocurrency
Money laundering in ICOs: https://www.elliptic.co/our-thinking/ico-risk-why-aml-compliance-matters
Yaya's op-ed on the Venezuelan metro in CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-investors-stay-away-venezuelas-petro/
Russia's blockchain plans: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/346476-blockchain-technology-may-give-russia-its-next-sputnik-moment
What jihadists are doing with crypto assets: https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/exclusive/international/terrorist-networks-eye-bitcoin-cryptocurrencys-price-rises
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column/private-sector/the-new-frontier-in-terror-fundraising-bitcoin
Yaya's essay on self-policing in CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-community-must-use-blockchain-self-police/
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with Gregory Allen (@Gregory_C_Allen), Gayle Lemmon (@gaylelemmon), Ryan Tseng, and Hanne Tidnam (@omnivorousread)
We now live in a world where connecting the dots between intel and modeling threats has become infinitely more complex: not only is the surface area to protect larger than ever, but the entry points and issues are more diverse than ever. This conversation, with Gregory Allen, a Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and co-author of the Belfer Center report on AI and National Security; Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Chief Marketing Officer of Shield AI and the author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and Ashley's War; Ryan Tseng, CEO and Co-founder of Shield AI; and a16z’s Hanne Tidnam, considers AI and automation in the context of national security.
Given the nature of today's conflict situations — which are over the last few decades increasingly in urban environments, in counterinsurgency operations, and often in ‘boots on the ground’ environments where it is very difficult for service to distinguish between civilians and combatants — how can new autonomous technologies actually improve how we protect the lives of servicemen and women on the ground? How might they enhance critical human decision making moment to moment, to save more lives? And more broadly, how is AI shifting national security power dynamics around the globe?
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The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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We live in very interesting times, to say the least -- whether it's a shift in how technology is built and adopted today compared to the past; a changing international landscape with leapfrogging players; or an increased cyberattack surface as computing and networking touch everything.
So what's next for technology and national security? This episode of the a16z Podcast is based on a conversation that took place last month between Marc Andreessen and Michèle Flournoy -- former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security -- moderated by Matt Spence, partner on the a16z Policy and Regulatory Affairs team (and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense). It covers everything from technology procurement and the tyranny of the inbox, to the politics of industrial policy and ethics debates around use-cases for new technologies.
But... do we really want innovation, not just in the abstract but in the specifics? If so, how do we think about the future? And how can both policymakers and technologists work together in different ways to help the U.S. keep its competitive edge and "give the future a seat at the table"?
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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