This is part 1 of the 2025 AI Series. Click here to purchase discounted tickets for all three events.

As artificial intelligence reshapes everything from defense systems to digital economies, nations are racing for technological innovation and global influence. At the forefront of this race are the United States, China, and Japan – three nations whose strategic approaches to AI and innovation are shaping the future of geopolitics.

What role will regulation, research, and ethics play in steering this high-stakes race? How are governments, corporations, and civil societies influencing the trajectory of AI? And what does leadership look like in an era where data is power?

Join us for a conversation about how AI and emerging technologies are redefining the balance of power on the global stage. We’ll explore the complex dynamics at play: U.S.-China competition, Japan’s strategic innovation investments, and the evolving alliances and tensions that will shape the rest of the 21st century.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Brent Bombach serves as Vice President and Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for NEC Corporation of America. In this role, he oversees the Government Relations and Public Policy team and manages NEC’s public policy development and engagement with the U.S. Congress, executive branch agencies, state and local leaders, and other stakeholders to advance these policy goals.

Prior to joining NEC, Mr. Bombach held several roles in the U.S. Senate to include staff director and policy director for subcommittees of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee. He also served as a senior advisor to Senator Rob Portman, supporting his work on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.

Julian Mueller-Kaler is the Director of the Strategic Foresight Hub in the Executive Office at the Stimson Center and also serves as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO. He researches global trends, evaluates the implications of emerging technologies on society and politics, and writes about the rise of populism, US-China relations, and the future of the international order.

Before joining Stimson, Mueller-Kaler was a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center and the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative where he worked on the geopolitics of technology and lead the GeoTech Center’s AI Connect program – a joint work stream with the U.S. Department of State that encouraged the responsible stewardship of AI technologies in the Global South.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Joanna Ridgway is Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Cien.ai. Previously, she was a financial services executive who served as managing director at Santander Bank and her professional experience includes international and commercial banking at JPMorgan, Fifth Third, and Bank of America. She serves as Vice Chair for WACDFW’s Board of Directors.