AI+ Expo Recap: Spotlight on the Central Stage
Highlights from the Central Stage at the AI+ Expo.
Hello, I’m Ylli Bajraktari, President of the Special Competitive Studies Project. Welcome to our latest newsletter, where we bring you a focused recap of the insightful sessions and groundbreaking discussions from the Central Stage at the recent AI+ Expo! This stage served as a vital platform for exploring a wide range of themes—from national security and defense innovation to supply chain risk and AI-related intellectual property—focusing on how emerging technologies are reshaping global power, policy, and preparedness, while bringing together leading voices and bold ideas.
Join us at the AI+ Science Summit!
SCSP’s AI+ Summit Series is a set of high-level events dedicated to enabling rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) as it transforms our country and becomes a keystone of our national security. The AI+ Science Summit, the fifth in this series, will take place on July 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. We are excited to announce that Dr. Thom Mason, Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory will be joining us as speaker! Stay tuned for additional speaker announcements coming soon!
Key Highlights from the Central Stage
The Central Stage hosted 31 sessions throughout the Expo, covering a diverse range of topics within national security, state-level approach to AI, and the implications of continued AI integration. Here are some of the standout moments and discussions:
Future of National Security: AI and the New Landscape of Conflict
Summary: On the first day of the 2025 AI+ Expo, Dr. Anshuman Roy and the Honorable Christopher Miller emphasized AI's potential to transform national security through predictive intelligence and rapid decision support. They highlighted the importance of bottom-up innovation, urging the deployment of AI tools directly to tactical units. Both speakers warned that without ethical guardrails and faster adoption, the United States risks falling behind adversaries in AI-driven warfare.
Speakers/Participants: Featuring Dr. Anshuman Roy (CEO, Rhombus Power), the Honorable Christopher Miller (Former Acting Secretary of Defense), and Andrew Sollinger (CEO of Foreign Policy Magazine) as moderator.
Driving Growth: AI, States, and the New American Economy
Summary: Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves positioned his state as an emerging hub for AI and tech investment, citing multibillion-dollar projects from AWS, Compass, and other major firms. He highlighted record-low unemployment, top-tier GDP growth, and education reforms that have propelled workforce readiness. Through initiatives like the Mississippi AI Network and AI Talent Accelerator Program, the state is embedding AI skills across schools, colleges, and job training systems. Governor Reeves argued that with strategic infrastructure, energy policy, and public-private partnerships, Mississippi is poised to lead in America’s AI-driven economic future.
Speakers/Participants: Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves
Future of AI
Summary: Wrapping up the final day of the AI+ Expo, speakers discussed the uneven progress of AI, with some arguing it is underhyped while others warned its full potential remains untapped due to trust, measurement, and adoption challenges. Panelists emphasized the need for standards, transparent governance, and public-private collaboration to guide responsible AI deployment. Concerns about labor disruption, disinformation, and value misalignment were balanced by optimism about AI's unrealized potential in education, precision medicine, and situational awareness. The discussion underscored that AI's impact depends as much on human decisions, governance models, and business incentives as on technological advancements themselves.
Speakers/Participants: Featuring Dr. David Danks (Professor, UC San Diego), Elham Tabassi (Director, Brookings Institution), David Stout (CEO, WebAI), Ramayya Krishnan (Dean of Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University), and Steven Overly (Reporter, POLITICO) as moderator.
Further Insights from the Central Stage
Beyond these highlighted sessions, the Central Stage delved into many other critical areas, fostering dialogue and collaboration on topics such as:
China’s techniques to use artificial intelligence to drive their authoritarian state.
American leadership in cutting-edge space technologies and how to maintain and grow our advantage.
The progress made by the SCSP-led Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy.
Central Stage also played host to a number of elected officials from the U.S. government, including Senator David McCormick, Senator Todd Young, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, Representative Brett Guthrie, and Representative John Moolenaar. State governors also made their presence felt, with a keynote from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, and video messages from Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
We encourage you to explore the full list of sessions from the Central Stage on our YouTube channel for more in-depth content.
Looking Ahead
The discussions on the Central Stage truly underscored how emerging technologies are redefining global power, policy, and preparedness—spanning issues from national security to AI and supply chains—while convening influential voices and forward-looking perspectives. We are excited by the progress and insights shared and look forward to seeing how these ideas continue to shape the future.
Stay tuned for more focused recaps from other stages of the AI+ Expo!