On March 18, a team from the RAND Corporation’s Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) initiative visited the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET). The two sides exchanged views on national security risks arising from advances in artificial intelligence, Taiwan’s unmanned systems information security, cyber resilience for critical infrastructure, and cross-sector security governance. The delegation was led by Michael S. Chase, Senior Political Scientist at RAND, and included Rich Girven, Senior International and Defense Researcher; Gregory Smith, Policy Analyst; and Julia Arnold, Research Assistant.
Michael S. Chase is currently a Senior Political Scientist at RAND and an Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He previously served in the Biden administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, overseeing China-related issues, with his portfolio later expanding to include China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. He visited Taiwan in 2023 as the first senior U.S. Department of Defense official to do so during the Biden administration.
RAND’s Center for the Geopolitics of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is dedicated to helping policymakers understand, anticipate, and prepare for the implications of artificial intelligence—particularly AGI—for national security and geopolitics. Through policy research, cross-national expert dialogue, and various AGI-focused tabletop exercises, the center has conducted hundreds of simulations in the United States, Europe, and other allied countries to assess how prepared governments are to respond to AGI-related risks and governance challenges, and to generate policy recommendations.
As part of this exchange, DSET also invited domestic cybersecurity-related institutions and practitioners to join the discussion. Together with the RAND team, participants exchanged views on Taiwan’s cybersecurity defenses, responses to unmanned system threats, critical infrastructure resilience, and interagency coordination. DSET noted that its National Security Program and Democratic Governance Program have in recent years continued to study lessons from Ukraine and their relevance for Taiwan. DSET has also remained actively engaged in research and dialogue on the protection of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, counter-drone measures, and regular exchanges with relevant domestic stakeholders, and looks forward to further deepening cooperation with RAND.
Participants in the meeting also included representatives from Taiwan’s cybersecurity community, who exchanged views on Taiwan’s cyber defense and international cooperation. Among them were Mars Cheng, Executive Director of the Association of Hackers in Taiwan (HIT); GD, Director of the Association of Hackers in Taiwan (HIT); and Hao-Wei Chen, Director of the Association of Hackers in Taiwan (HIT). They shared their observations on Taiwan’s responses to cybersecurity threats and cross-sector collaboration. All participants agreed that as artificial intelligence continues to evolve rapidly and complex security risks intensify, strengthening networks for knowledge exchange and collaboration among government, civil society, and international partners will be essential to enhancing Taiwan’s overall resilience.
