The Great Tech Game Podcast: Geopolitics, Technology, Business and Global Affairs, with Anirudh Suri

Hosted by Anirudh Suri

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May 2026

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Interested in geopolitics, technology, business, entrepreneurship and global affairs? The Great Tech Game Podcast is the perfect podcast for you. Host Anirudh Suri, a tech venture capitalist, policy advisor, and bestselling author of The Great Tech Game, brings you smart, insightful conversations at the intersection of tech and geopolitics. Listen to the carefully curated line up of the world's best thinkers on these themes. They will help you see the big picture, and in the process, understand how to get ahead in a world thats constantly being upended by technology and geopolitics.

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May 21, 2026Episode 5458 min

Ep. 54 - Entrepreneurs: The New Freedom Fighters For India? Kanwal Rekhi, VC with Anirudh Suri

In this episode of The Great Tech Game podcast, we sit down with Kanwal Rekhi, venture capitalist, the first Indian-American to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ, and co-founder of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE). We discuss why he believes entrepreneurs are the new freedom fighters for India. Rekhi traces the journey of India from being branded as a "land of snake charmers" to becoming a global "technological powerhouse," arguing that the next phase of India’s independence is economic—freedom from hunger and poverty driven by a massive surge in entrepreneurship.Rekhi offers a provocative look at how India should aim to reclaim its #1 global economic spot by 2047. He challenges conventional wisdom on "brain drain," the role of the government in regulation, and why a "politics of wealth creation" must precede the "politics of wealth distribution".We explore:- How has the nature of starting a business changed from the early days of PC hardware and networking to the current era of AI?\- Why are entrepreneurs the "new freedom fighters"? - Is "brain drain" actually a benefit? Has the exodus of Indian talent to the US built a "brain trust" for India instead?- What is the "Noble Experiment" of India? Can a country this diverse and poor sustain both a constitutional democracy and a free market better than the model seen in China?- Why should India build 1,000 IITs? Why is investing in "people and their brains" the highest ROI the government can achieve?- How do we fix the "dead arm" of the Indian economy by empowering entrepreneurs in small towns?- What can India learn from the US about venture capital and taxes? - Why is the current Indian regulatory framework potentially stifling the 10 million entrepreneurs we need by 2047?▶️ Watch the full conversation now, and subscribe to The Great Tech Game.---About the Guest: Kanwal Rekhi is an Indian-American entrepreneur, investor, and mentor best known as the first Indian-American founder to take a venture-backed company public in the United States, when networking startup Excelan was listed on the stock exchange in 1987. After the company’s IPO and merger, Rekhi shifted his focus toward enabling entrepreneurship, mentoring more than 10,000 founders and investing in over 200 early-stage startups, including companies such as Exodus Communications, Poshmark, redBus, Sierra Atlantic, and NetMagic. Today, as Managing Director of Inventus Capital Partners and SV Quad, and as a co-founder of TiE Global, Rekhi continues to champion entrepreneurship with a mission to help create 10 million entrepreneurs by India’s 100th anniversary.About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast:Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#thegreattechgame #tgtgpodcast #anirudhsuri #IndianEconomy #Entrepreneurship #Startups #IndianStartups #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #IndiaAI #Technology #Innovation #Geopolitics #EconomicGrowth #ViksitBharat #SiliconValley #VentureCapital #FutureOfIndia #TechPodcast #GlobalSouth #IIT #EconomicFreedom #Entrepreneurs #TechAndGeopolitics #IndianTech #AIRevolution #KanwalRekhi

April 3, 2026Episode 5221 min

Ep. 53 (AI Futures) - How Local Innovations Could Drive Global AI Breakthroughs | Vilas Dhar, Patrick McGovern Foundation

In this episode of the AI Futures Podcast, host Anirudh Suri sits down with Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, member of the UN High Level Advisory Body on AI, and Harvard Kennedy School alum, to unpack Vilas' unique perspective on how technology can be harnessed as a force for global good. The conversation explores Vilas’s personal journey—from a childhood split between rural Illinois and villages outside Bangalore—to his current work overseeing half a billion dollars in investments focused on responsible AI. Dhar highlights successful initiatives like Climate Trace, which uses data to monitor carbon emissions, as examples of how AI can serve humanity beyond mere profit. The conversation addresses the importance of moving away from a Western-centric "AI race" toward a model of inclusive leadership.Key topics include:* How local constraints in the Global South are driving world-class innovation, such as India’s Sarvam AI.* The transition from tech "overdependence" to global interdependence, where every country finds its unique niche.* Real-world examples of AI for good, including Climate Trace, a platform for tracking carbon emissions used by thousands of organizations.* Why the next generation of students in Indian universities gives Vilas more hope for the future than anything coming out of Silicon Valley.Watch Anirudh and Vilas in conversation to understand what an AI-enabled world could look like if we started from values and principles first, as the world's AI conversation moves to India.Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.Chapters & Timestamps00:00 – Introduction & Reflections on the India AI Summit02:30 – A Journey Between Two Worlds05:15 – The Patrick McGovern Foundation & Responsible AI06:45 – AI for Good: Tracking Climate Change with Climate Trace08:30 – India’s AI Strategy: Innovation, Constraints, and Sarvam AI11:00 – From Overdependence to Global Interdependence in AI13:15 – Why Indian University Students are the Real Source of Hope15:30 – Shifting the Narrative: From "AI Race" to "AI Leadership"18:00 – Grounding Technology in Music, Arts, and Human Values20:15 – Final Reflections & Book/Podcast Recommendations-------Follow the India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Vilas Dhar*Vilas Dhar is recognized as a leading global expert on the future of AI and its role in shaping society. As President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, he leads one of the world’s foremost philanthropies committed to demonstrating how data and AI can be harnessed to advance equity, human dignity, and collective progress. Vilas has also served as a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, and is the U.S. Government’s nominated expert to the Global Partnership on AI. Read more about Patrick J. McGovern Foundation here: https://www.mcgovern.org/Climate Trace Project: https://climatetrace.org/*About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #TGTGPodcast #AnirudhSuri #AI #TheGreatTechGame #VilasDhar #patrickjmcgovernfoundation #aiforgood #philanthropy #responsibleai #climatetrace #globalsouth #globalsouthai

March 25, 2026Episode 521 hr 10 min

Ep. 52 (AI Futures) - Switzerland 2027: Is a Global AI Treaty Possible? Amb. Thomas Schneider with Anirudh Suri

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, host Anirudh Suri sits down with *Ambassador Thomas Schneider* who led the negotiations for the *world's first binding international treaty on Artificial Intelligence.* Ambassador Schneider shares his views on how Switzerland is adopting a decentralised, bottoms up approach to devising its AI strategy, unlike other countries that have a top-down, centralised approach, and what AI for good really means. As the person who will also be helping put together the 2027 Switzerland AI Summit, he also shares how Switzerland is planning to leverage its "trusted hub" reputation in the world of AI as well.We explore:- How can a small country compete with AI giants like the US and China? Discover why Switzerland doesn't have one single, centralised "AI strategy" and how they use an "agile ecosystem" to stay ahead.- Is a global treaty on AI actually possible? Hear from the person who negotiated with 55 countries to create shared AI rules for a fragmented world.- Will AI take our jobs in the next five years? We discuss the risk of 10% to 20% of office jobs being displaced and which skills humans must keep for themselves.- Who is responsible when AI goes wrong? We explore the idea of "liability" and why companies should pay for the risks they create.- In a world optimized for efficiency, how do we ensure ecologically responsible energy choices? - How can we avoid some of the same mistakes made during the Industrial Revolution that are causing an ecological crisis now?---The AI Futures Podcast series, hosted by Anirudh Suri, is organized in collaboration with the *Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India* as the intellectual prelude to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 being held from Feb 16 - 20, 2026 in New Delhi, India.Follow the India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/ Whether you are a student, a policymaker, or just curious about the future of AI, this conversation breaks down the complex world of AI into lessons we can all understand.---*About Thomas Schneider*Thomas Schneider is Ambassador and Director of International Affairs at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) in the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). He is a long-standing expert in digital governance and in the governance of the information and knowledge society and artificial intelligence. He led the negotiations for the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, adopted in 2024 as the world's first legally binding international treaty on AI. *About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AnirudhSuri #ThomasSchneider

March 19, 2026Episode 511 hr 9 min

Ep. 51 (AI Futures) - Why You’ll Soon Be a "Manager of AI Agents": Jeetu Patel, President, CISCO with Anirudh Suri | AI Futures | Ep. 51

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, host Anirudh Suri, tech investor and policy advisor, sits down with Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer of Cisco, for a raw and visionary conversation about the AI revolution. This conversation is a deep exploration of how AI is reshaping business, labor, and society, interwoven with the inspiring story of how Jeetu rose to one of the most influential leadership roles. Whether you're a developer, a student, or a business leader, this interview provides a roadmap for thriving in a world where AI is no longer a tool, but a colleague. Key Discussion Points:- How can countries like India carve out leadership amidst the US-China duopoly in AI?- How are companies like Cisco positioning themselves in the AI revolution?- Why modern software development has "completely flipped" and what it means for the next generation of engineers.- How will organizational structures change as AI automates entry-level tasks? - What skills should the next generation build to stay relevant in an AI-driven world?- How do we embed trust, ethics, and human values into AI agents and AI systems?- Will AI make us intellectually weaker—or push us toward deeper thinking?-----The AI Futures Podcast series, hosted by Anirudh Suri, is organized in collaboration with the *Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India* as the intellectual prelude to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 being held from Feb 16 - 20, 2026 in New Delhi, India.Follow the India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/-----*About Jeetu Patel*Jeetu Patel is the President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco and is recognized as one of the world’s leading thinkers on product strategy and technological disruption. Under his leadership, Cisco has driven innovation across its broad portfolio of products, establishing the company as the critical infrastructure for the AI era.Patel joined Cisco in 2020 to lead the collaboration and security business. He quickly became recognized for his commitment to product design and user experience, leading the team through a period of rapid innovation to transform Webex and support customers through the global pandemic. In 2024 he was promoted to the role of Chief Product Officer, where he now leads several multibillion-dollar categories, including networking, computing, security, Splunk, and more.*About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, and the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #AI #Cisco #FutureOfWork #JeetuPatel #AnirudhSuri #Coding #IndiaTech #TechLeadership #TGTGpodcast #AIcoding #humanintheloop #AIsecurity #TechSovereignty #FutureOfWork #AIStrategy #India #PersonalJourney #Podcast

March 5, 202627 min

Ep. 50 (AI Futures) - AI vs AI: The New Cyber Wars | Anne Neuberger, Former US Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber | AI Futures Series | Ep. 50

In this episode of the *AI Futures* Podcast, host Anirudh Suri sits down with Anne Neuberger, former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology under the Biden administration, to explore the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. As cyber conflict has evolved from a human-led “cat-and-mouse” game to a machine-against-machine battlefield, we unpack critical questions in this episode:- How is AI reshaping both cyber threats and cyber defense?- As attacks become faster and more scalable, can defenders realistically keep up?- Who are the key actors in cyberspace today — nation-states, criminals, transnational groups — and how do they operate in a borderless digital domain?- Can AI-driven secure code meaningfully reduce systemic vulnerabilities?- How can AI strengthen the protection of critical national infrastructure?- What can the world learn from India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (India Stack)?- And as AI automates technical work, what cross-disciplinary skills will define the next generation of leaders?As non-state actors proliferate and geopolitics increasingly plays out in cyberspace, this conversation offers a rare policymaker’s perspective on how these risks should be managed. Watch Anirudh and Anne in conversation to understand what’s at stake in the world of AI and cyber, as the world’s AI conversation moves to India.#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #TGTGPodcast #AnirudhSuri #AI #TheGreatTechGame #cyberattacks #cybersecurity #AICyberSecurity #AnneNeuberger

March 3, 2026Episode 4926 min

Ep. 49 (AI Futures) - Will AI Transform the Existing Economic Growth Model? Iqbal Dhaliwal, J-PAL, MIT | Anirudh Suri

In this episode of the AI Futures Podcast, Anirudh Suri sits down with Iqbal Dhaliwal, the Global Executive Director of MIT’s Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), at the India AI Impact Summit. They explore the shift from traditional technology in development to the rapid rise of AI, focusing on how countries like India can leverage these tools for the public good while avoiding common pitfalls of "hype" over "impact."This interview explores the evolving role of technology in global development, specifically comparing historical innovations like the Green Revolution to the rapid, multimodal rise of artificial intelligence. Dhaliwal emphasizes that while AI offers unprecedented speed and accessibility, it should be viewed as a functional enabler rather than a standalone solution. He critiques the current tendency to prioritize user engagement metrics over tangible life outcomes, urging development practitioners to focus on rigorous impact evaluation. Our discussion also highlights the need for locally-derived applications that address specific regional challenges, such as South Asian healthcare needs or tax compliance. Ultimately, Iqbal suggests that for nations like India to succeed, they must balance technological adoption with supportive labor policies and a commitment to democratizing research.0:00 – Introduction 1:30 – From Seeds to Laptops: The History of Tech in Development 3:45 – Why the AI Revolution is "Breathtakingly" Different 6:15 – Economists vs. Technologists: Who Should Lead? 8:30 – AI as an Enabler: The Brazil Essay Grading Case Study A practical example of AI in action10:45 – The Problem with "Vanity Metrics" in AI Dhaliwal critiques the focus on "intermediate outcomes" like downloads and subscribers, and that true impact must be measured by final outcomes.13:20 – Avoiding the "AI Trap": Call Centers vs. High-Tech A warning against being a "solution in search of a problem"15:45 – Why Local Context Matters: Silicon Valley vs. India The conversation explores the gap between Western "labor-replacing" tech and the need for "labor-enhancing" tech in India18:15 – India as a "Digital Outlier" India is described as being on the "right side of the digital divide" for the first time.20:30 – Policy Advice: Fixing the Labor-AI Incentive Gap Dhaliwal offers advice for the Labor Minister.22:45 – Using AI for Progressive Taxation For the Finance Minister, Dhaliwal suggests the focus areas.25:00 – Democratizing Tech at the AI Impact Summit A reflection on how the India AI Impact Summit democratized access to tech leaders like Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai, moving beyond a small circle of intellectuals to reach the public.27:30 – Launching the "Evaluation Playbook" About Anirudh SuriAnirudh Suri is the host of the AI Futures Podcast and the "Great Tech Game" series. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School’s MPP program and has a professional background in venture capital, which he uses to bridge the gap between frontier technology and economic policy. His work focuses on how the "Global Tech Game" is shifting and how countries like India can navigate the evolving geopolitical and technological landscape.About Iqbal DhaliwalIqbal Dhaliwal is the Global Executive Director of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). An economist by training and an alumnus of Princeton, he has dedicated his career to using rigorous evaluation to improve development outcomes worldwide. In addition to his leadership at MIT, he serves on the boards of several high-impact organizations, including Rocket Learning, Nura Health, and Adalat AI, where he helps guide the application of technology for the public good.#AI #India #EconomicDevelopment #MIT #JPAL #TechForGood #IndiaAIImpactSummit #AnirudhSuri #IqbalDhaliwal #DigitalDivide #PublicGood #Innovation #Policy #FutureOfWork

February 27, 2026Episode 481 hr 3 min

Ep. 48 (AI Futures) - How Can India and Japan Navigate the AI Race? Ren Ito, CEO, Sakana AI and Anirudh Suri

In this episode of the *AI Futures* Podcast, host Anirudh Suri sits down with Ren Ito, the Co-founder and CEO of Sakana AI—Japan’s fastest-ever unicorn startup.Ren brings a unique perspective to the table, blending 15 years of experience in the Japanese Foreign Service with leadership roles at tech giants like Mercari. They explore why the future of AI isn't just a "bigger is better" arms race and how countries like India and Japan can carve out their own strategic autonomy in a shifting global landscape.In this episode, we unpack key questions including:• Is the "scaling law" of AI sustainable? • Is the "bigger is better" approach only be for a handful of hyperscalers, and how the rest of the world can find a different, more efficient path?• How can nations achieve "strategic autonomy" in a bipolar US-China tech world? • Can we balance AI progress with ecological sustainability? • Will AI create a new "digital divide" in the workforce? • What does "AI as Soft Power" mean for global diplomacy? From the "switchboard" approach to model building to the role of AI as a form of soft power, this conversation dives deep into the intersections of technology, diplomacy, and the human element.🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.-----Follow the India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Ren Ito*Ren Ito is the Co-Founder and COO of Sakana AI, Japan’s fastest unicorn after one year in business, backed by Nvidia and a broad spectrum of Japanese enterprises. Previously, Ren was CEO of Mercari Europe, Japan’s first unicorn. Before tech, Ren spent 15 years as a Japanese diplomat where he worked on the security alliance with the US, negotiated a free trade agreement with the EU, and represented Japan at the World Bank board. *About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #tgtgpodcast #anirudhsuri#AI #renito #thegreattechgame #aifuturespodcast #ArtificialIntelligence #Geopolitics #Sustainability #SakanaAI #TechSovereignty #IndiaAI #FutureOfWork #AIStrategy #uschina

February 17, 2026Episode 471 hr 6 min

Ep. 47 (AI Futures) - Are AI Agents A Threat to Global Cybersecurity? | Jay Chaudry, CEO, Zscaler

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, host Anirudh Suri sits down with Jay Chaudhry, the entrepreneur behind Zscaler and a pioneer in the cybersecurity world. From his humble beginnings in a small village in Himachal Pradesh to founding a string of groundbreaking tech companies in Silicon Valley, Jay shares his unique perspective on the "mega waves" of technology and why he believes *AI is the biggest wave of all—a "gigawave"*.We dive deep into how the cyber threat landscape has shifted from simple website defacing to nation-state spying and attacks on critical infrastructure like the Colonial Pipeline attack. Jay explains why traditional "castle and moat" security is failing and why the world must move toward a Zero Trust architecture.In this conversation, we explore:- How do modern cyberattacks actually unfold? How are hackers using AI to identify vulnerabilities in under 30 seconds?- Is India moving toward becoming a global hub for high-tech manufacturing and R&D?- If humans are today’s weakest link, could tomorrow’s threat come from thousands of hijacked AI agents running amok?- Is “hunger and hustle” more decisive than strategy? Is adversity be a founder’s greatest advantage?-- As AI accelerates into a “gigawave,” how will we keep our systems secure against intelligent threats?🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.-----Follow the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Jay Chaudhry*Jay is an accomplished entrepreneur, and has founded a series of successful companies, including AirDefense, CipherTrust, CoreHarbor, SecureIT, and Zscaler, now a public company as of March 16, 2018.Prior to founding Zscaler in 2008, he founded and led AirDefense, a wireless security pioneer, before its acquisition by Motorola. From 2000 to 2006, Jay founded and led CipherTrust, the industry’s first email security gateway, before its merger with Secure Computing. He also founded and led CoreHarbor, a managed ecommerce solution, before it was acquired by USi/AT&T. Jay has been honored as an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year,” IIT BHU's “Distinguished Alumnus,” and Goldman Sachs “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” He earned his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics Engineering from IIT BHU Varanasi. *About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association. He tweets @AnirudhSuri.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #tgtgpodcast #anirudhsuri #jaychaudhry #zscaler #AIAgents #hackers #cyberhackers #zerotrustsecurity #cloudsecurity #cybersecurity #cyberattacks #ai #podcast #thegreattechgame #digitalsovereignty #datacenters #datasovereignty

February 12, 2026Episode 461 hr 0 min

Ep. 46 (AI Futures) - The Global South Needs to Step Up To The AI Challenge | Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award Winner

In this episode of *AI Futures* , host Anirudh Suri sits down with Professor Yoshua Bengio — Turing Award winner and one of the world’s most influential AI researchers, and chair of the International AI Safety Report (2025 and 2026) — for a wide-ranging conversation on what the next phase of AI progress could mean for global power, economic inequality, and human control.As AI systems grow more capable and increasingly autonomous the stakes are no longer theoretical. From AI agents that can plan, deceive, and evade oversight to an intensifying US–China AI arms race, this episode explores whether the world is heading toward shared prosperity or a second great divergence.In this conversation, we explore:• Why is the US–China competition blocking effective global regulation?• What can “middle powers” like India and Canada do to avoid being left out?• What “deceptive alignment” means—and why AI models' deception tendencies is worrying leading researchers• How AI could be misused for cyberattacks or biological threats• Will AI will displace more white-collar jobs than it creates?• Can AI be built as a global public good, rather than a winner-takes-all race?🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.-----Follow the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Yoshua Bengio*Recognized worldwide as one of the leading experts in artificial intelligence, Yoshua Bengio is most known for his pioneering work in deep learning, earning him the 2018 A.M. Turing Award, “the Nobel Prize of Computing,” with Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun, and making him the computer scientist with the largest number of citations and h-index. He is Full Professor at Université de Montréal. Concerned about the social impact of AI, he actively contributed to the Montreal Declaration for the Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence and currently chairs the International AI Safety Report.Read the AI International Safety Report, chaired by Prof. Yoshua Bengio: https://internationalaisafetyreport.org/publication/international-ai-safety-report-2026*About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association. He tweets @AnirudhSuri.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #GlobalGovernance #anirudhsuri #YoshuaBengio #thegreattechgame #TGTGpodcast #AIAgents #AIRisks #uschina #aimisuse #InternationalAISafetyReport #CyberAttacks #AI #MiddlePowers #Canada #India #Japan #DeceptiveAlignment #TechAlliances #podcast

February 8, 2026Episode 4556 min

Ep. 45 (AI Futures) - The 'Looming AI Divide': How Global Cooperation Can Help | UN Tech Envoy Amandeep Gill

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, Anirudh Suri sits down with UN Under-Secretary General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, Amandeep Gill. USG Gill offers a glimpse into the global governance of AI, the "looming AI divide," and the urgent need for international cooperation to prevent a "second great divergence" between the Global North and South. The conversation dives deep into the high-stakes risks of concentration of power, the sustainability crisis facing AI infrastructure, and the human impact on children’s mental health and cognitive development.Questions unpacked in this episode:- What new mechanisms is the UN building to ensure all countries can shape the AI future?- Will AI trigger a “second great divergence”?- Why does a single Chinese university have more compute power than the entire continent of Africa?- Are we facing a “cognitive decline” due to the increasing use of AI?- How do we ensure global AI standards are tech-neutral and inclusive, rather than set by dominant powers?- How can countries like India and Nigeria move from “market bystanders” to active players in the AI ecosystem?- Will AI create new productive opportunities—or displace the entry-level coders and data analysts of tomorrow?🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.------Follow the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About USG Amandeep Gill*United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 10 June 2022 the appointment of Amandeep Singh Gill of India as his Envoy on Technology. Mr. Gill is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. *About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association. He tweets @AnirudhSuri.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIFuturesPodcast #AISummit #globalgovernance #aiguardrails #anirudhsuri #amandeepgill #unsecretarygeneral #unitednations #ai #aiimpact #standards #digitaldivide #AIDivide #digitalsovereignty #Techsovereignty #nigeria #africa #india #aifutures #tgtgpodcast #thegreattechgame #podcast