Johns Hopkins SAIS to host former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt to discuss their new book The Age of AI: And Our Human Future
MEDIA ADVISORY
On Tuesday, December 7, the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS will host former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt for an off-the-record discussion of their new book The Age of AI: And Our Human Future. Henry A. Kissinger Center Director and Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor Francis J. Gavin, will provide opening remarks and Johns Hopkins SAIS Dean James B. Steinberg will moderate the conversation.
In The Age of AI, three leading thinkers in foreign policy and information technology have come together to consider how AI will change our relationships with knowledge, politics, and the societies in which we live. The Age of AI is an essential roadmap to our present and our future, ushering in an era unlike any that has come before. For more information about the book, visit: https://ageofaibook.com
Speakers
Opening Remarks
Francis J. Gavin
Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs Director and Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins SAIS
James B. Steinberg
Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS
Henry A. Kissinger
Former U.S. Secretary of State
Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
Eric Schmidt
Former Google CEO and Chairman
Co-founder, Schmidt Futures
Time and Date
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EST
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Registration
This event is off-the-record, but open to the public virtually with registration.
Media Contact
Jason Lucas
Communications Manager
Johns Hopkins SAIS
+1 (202) 663-5620
[email protected]
About the Speakers
Francis J. Gavin is the Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and the inaugural director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In 2013, Gavin was appointed the first Frank Stanton Chair in Nuclear Security Policy Studies and Professor of Political Science at MIT. Before joining MIT, he was the Tom Slick Professor of International Affairs and the Director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas. From 2005 until 2010, he directed The American Assembly’s multiyear, national initiative, The Next Generation Project: U.S. Global Policy and the Future of International Institutions. Gavin has published the following books: Gold, Dollars, and Power: The Politics of International Monetary Relations, 1958-1971 and Nuclear Statecraft: History and Strategy in America’s Atomic Age.
Gavin is an associate of the Managing the Atom Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, senior fellow of the Clements Program in History, Strategy, and Statecraft, a Distinguished Scholar at the Robert S. Strauss Center, a senior advisor to the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and a life-member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
James B. Steinberg is the 10th Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is also currently serving as University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs and Law at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Steinberg was Dean of the Maxwell School from 2011 to 2016. Before joining Syracuse University, he was Deputy Secretary of State from 2009 to 2011, serving as the principal deputy to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. From 2005 to 2008, Steinberg held the role of Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Prior to joining the University of Texas, he was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution from 2001 to 2005. From 1996 to 2000, Steinberg served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Bill Clinton. During this time, he also served as the president’s personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G8 summits. Before the Deputy National Security Advisor role, Steinberg held positions as director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Analysis at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Steinberg’s most recent books are A Glass Half Full? Rebalance, Reassurance and Resolve in the U.S.-China Relationship and Strategic Reassurance and Resolve: U.S.-China Relations in the 21st Century. Steinberg wrote both books with Michael O’Hanlon. His recent book chapters and articles include: “Too Much History: American Policy and East Asia in the Shadow of the Past” in Texas National Security Review; “Present at the ‘Re-Creation’: The Role of the State Department in Formulating and Implementing U.S. Global Policy” in America’s National Security Architecture; “United States: Grappling with Rising Powers” in Shaper Nations: Strategies for a Changing World; and “History, Policymaking, and the Balkans: Lessons Imported and Lessons Learned” in The Power of the Past, History and Statecraft. Steinberg is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and recognitions, including the CIA Director's Medal, Joseph J. Kruzel Memorial Award from the American Political Science Association, and Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award.
Henry A. Kissinger was sworn in on September 22, 1973, as the 56th U.S. Secretary of State, a position he held until January 20, 1977. He also served as assistant to the president for national security affairs from January 20, 1969, until November 3, 1975. In July 1983, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, serving until it ceased operation in January 1985, and from 1984 to 1990, he served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1986 to 1988, he was a member of the Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy of the National Security Council and Defense Department. He has served as a member of the Defense Policy Board since 2001.
Currently, Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; a counselor to and trustee of CSIS; an honorary governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an honor member of the International Olympic Committee. Among his other activities, Kissinger has served as a member of the Board of Directors of ContiGroup Companies, Inc., from 1988 to 2014 and remains an adviser to the board, a position he has also held at American Express Company since 2005, after serving on the board from 1984. He is also a director of the International Rescue Committee. Kissinger has received numerous awards throughout his career, including a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army in 1945, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the Medal of Liberty in 1986. Kissinger is the author of many books, including most recently World Order, and has also published countless articles on U.S. foreign policy, international affairs, and diplomatic history.
Eric Schmidt is an accomplished technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. As Google’s Chief Executive Officer, he pioneered its transformation from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2001 to 2011, Executive Chairman from 2011 to 2018, and most recently as Technical Advisor. Under his leadership, Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation. Schmidt currently serves on the boards of the Mayo Clinic and the Broad Institute, among others.
Schmidt is the co-founder of Schmidt Futures, which helps exceptional people do more for others by applying science and technology thoughtfully and working together across fields. In 2019, Eric and his wife Wendy announced a new $1 billion philanthropic commitment to identify and support talent across disciplines and around the globe, beginning with the launch of Rise, a partnership between Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, established to increase opportunities for extraordinary young people and empower them to serve others. During the coronavirus pandemic, Schmidt and Schmidt Futures were selected by then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to lead the state’s 16-member Blue Ribbon Commission, which will employ lessons learned from COVID-19 to improve and modernize state systems for the future. He is also a New York Times bestselling author, who has co-written The New Digital Age, How Google Works, and Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell.
Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs
The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs is home to extraordinary scholars of history and seasoned practitioners in foreign policy and international security. The Kissinger Center’s mission is to generate and apply rigorous historical thinking to the most vexing global challenges. Additionally, the Kissinger Center also as a bridge between the world of ideas and the world of action, bringing together leading thinkers and policy-makers. Its faculty, staff, fellows, and scholars passionately believe that a deep understanding of the past – its trends, rhythms, its lessons – can provide powerful insights into the pressing threats and opportunities present today. https://sais.jhu.edu/kissinger
Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For more than 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school's interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.
For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on Twitter @SAISHopkins
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