Dr. Benson has shed light on a private industry leveraging artificial intelligence to conduct massive surveillance of citizens in China, Taiwan, the United States, and around the world.

How Moscow thinks about using bioweapons, how China is building a program of its own, and why the most frightening of them pose a risk even nuclear weapons don’t.

What the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does, why it exists at all, and how recent developments are undermining its mission.

( “RESCUE Oceans Act” : Removing and Sequestering Carbon Unleashed in the Environment and Oceans Act

“mCDR” : marine carbon dioxide removal )

The conversation examines how lab accidents or covert weapons work could trigger a fast-moving outbreak, why airborne pathogens are hard to detect early, and how AI may lower barriers to engineering them.

The conversation explores the importance of public procurement, industrial capacity, and scaling European innovation, as well as the challenges posed by fragmentation, regulation, and technological sovereignty.