NATO and Technological Warfare in Ukraine

The Sydcast

Episode Summary

Ukraine is Ground Zero for war, but also all manner of newer technologies, from cyber to AI. What is NATO seeing, and learning, and what are the implications of the war for global security, technology, and innovation? James Appathurai has a front-row seat at NATO HQ, on this episode of The Sydcast.

Sydney Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.

James Appathurai

James Appathurai was appointed to this post in September 2021. As DASG, he works on policy development and implementation in the fields of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, cyber security, counter-terrorism, the security implications of climate change, and hybrid defence. Mr Appathurai previously served as DASG for Political Affairs and Security Policy and Special Representative to Central Asia and the Caucasus. He was NATO’s Spokesperson from 2004 to 2010. He served as Deputy Head and Senior Planning Officer in the Policy Planning and Speechwriting Section of NATO’s Political Affairs Division from 1998 to 2004. He served in the Canadian Defence Department from 1994 to 1998.

Insights from this episode:

• Insights on the status of the Ukrainian war
• James’ expertise in various technologies and cyber security
• What is happening in Ukraine, and our role as the west
• How Ukraine has defended itself from attacks
• Insights on emerging technologies and how they fit into the Ukrainian war
• How quantum and AI are benefiting countries that have invested in them
• How the war on Russia has affected her credibility with other countries
• Innovations at NATO
• NATO’s efforts toward climate change

Quotes from the show:

• “President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people have reminded us what it is to fight for yourself, for your values, for your security, and they are doing remarkably well in that context” -James Appathurai [1:58]
• “Let’s not underestimate the long years of Russia’s interference into our countries, including the electoral process in the U.S, including ransom war attacks all over Europe and the U.S and Canada” -James Appathurai [5:23]
• “Once you unleash a cyber weapon, everybody knows you have it, everybody knows how it works, and then everybody else has it too. In other words, once it’s out in the wild, you get to copy it, modify it and use it yourself“ -James Appathurai [14:12]
• “Both AI and quantum are technologies which Russia and China have publicly, at the top level of president, identified as national priorities” -James Appathurai [18:07]
• “Whoever gets to quantum encryption first is in a massive position of advantage strategically” -James Appathurai [19:38]
• “If you don’t know whether your communications are reliable within your own system, then how can you know what to do? You are paralyzed” -James Appathurai [23:15]
• “I think when it comes to quantum and to a certain extent AI, it is really the U.S and China that are in the lead” -James Appathurai [25:16]
• “We are not in the same world we were in 20 years ago, we are now in an era of strategic competition, and that strategic competition is driven by technology” -James Appathurai [35:38]
• “When push comes to shove, walls go up: but I think what we need to do is take advantage of the moments when push hasn’t yet come to shove” -James Appathurai [42.39]
• “The U.S doesn’t get as much credit as it should for everything it does over here” -James Appathurai [47:18]

Stay connected:

Sydney Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

James Appathurai

LinkedIn: James Appathurai

Twitter: James Appathurai

Facebook: James Appathurai Official

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.