David Sanger

AI position

Aware of x-risk

Has flagged AI's disinformation/hacking dangers and US-China AI-safety talks, but only in passing, not as a recurring beat.

Why influential

Has access to decision-makers and can set elite understanding through scoops, sourcing and authoritative framing in a major newsroom. Primary policy lanes: china; cyber; nuclear policy; white house; technology.

Who pays attention

Defense and intelligence officials, diplomats, White House and Hill staff, technology leaders and foreign-policy journalists

Work samples

• New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West

  Apr 1, 2024 · article

  Book (with Mary K. Brooks) framing AI, semiconductors and surveillance tech as a central front in US rivalry with China and Russia; drawn from interviews with US officials and tech executives.

• America's New Cold Wars, With David Sanger (CFR podcast)

  May 21, 2024 · podcast

  Sanger discusses first-ever US-China talks on AI safety and keeping AI away from nuclear command-and-control systems; no named AI-world guests.

• War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age (Forcepoint podcast, Parts 1 & 2)

  Jan 1, 2024 · podcast

  Discussion of cyber conflict and 'The Perfect Weapon'; tangential AI/ML mention, not focused on AI labs.

• Remarks at Dartmouth on AI as a geopolitical threat

  May 1, 2026 · article

  Sanger quoted saying unregulated government AI use will 'speed up the hacking process' and disinformation; framed within US-China-Russia rivalry, not lab-specific.