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Big Technology Podcast

Condoleezza Rice: U.S. Tech at Risk Amid University Cuts, China Threat

Big Technology Podcast

Alex Kantrowitz

Technology, Religion & Spirituality, Business News, Business, Religion, Science, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Management, Marketing, Politics, News Commentary, Government, Investing, Tech News, Social Sciences, News

4.6395 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Condoleezza Rice is a former U.S. Secretary of State and current director of Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Rice joins Big Technology to discuss whether the United States can hold its technological edge as China races ahead in AI, batteries, and advanced manufacturing. Tune in to hear her candid take on the U.S.–China tech arms race, the ripple effects of chip export controls, and why she believes democracies are safer stewards of frontier technologies. We also cover the squeeze on university research funding, immigration-driven talent pipelines, and tuition-fueled class divides. Hit play for a data-rich, no-fluff conversation on the special sauce for the U.S. tech industry and the risks it faces in our current political environment. Learn more about the Hoover Technology Policy Accelerator here: https://www.hoover.org/research-teams/technology-policy-accelerator --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Questions? Feedback? Write to: [email protected]

Transcript

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0:00.0

Is the United States at risk of losing its technological edge?

0:04.0

As it cracks down on university research funding, pushes away international students, and falls behind China in some key disciplines.

0:12.0

Let's talk about it with former Secretary of State and Hoover Institution Director Condoleezza Rice, who's here with us in studio at Stanford today. Secretary Rice,

0:23.3

welcome to the show. It's a pleasure to be with you. So we find ourselves in an interesting

0:27.7

moment right now. The U.S. has long been viewed as the leader in technology, but you look at

0:32.6

China. They're the leader in battery technology, the leader in EVs. You can make an argument that they're leading in humanoid robots, and they just came for

0:41.0

RAI industry with Deepseek.

0:43.8

So is the U.S. in danger of losing its lead to China right now?

0:47.7

This is actually a really interesting story because I think we're seeing a pattern here.

0:51.5

The United States will lead in innovation, lead in discovery,

0:56.9

and then somehow we manage to lose that edge. So battery technology is an excellent example.

1:03.9

We actually invented battery technology, and somehow now we've lost the lead. So I'm very interested in why this keeps happening.

1:12.7

You know, some of it may be that the innovations are not ready for the market.

1:17.4

They don't have a commercial value.

1:19.2

And so they sort of faded to the background.

1:21.0

They get picked up because we're very open about our innovation and our research.

1:25.7

You can read it anywhere.

1:27.1

And so China has done very well

1:29.6

taking American discovery and innovation and then creating a market for it. So it's something

1:35.9

we have to be very careful about because when you come to AI, and I know we'll talk more about

1:40.3

this, you're talking about what my friend Feiaye Faye Lee calls us civilizational technology,

1:45.7

and that would be very different than losing the lead in, say, battery technology. So you're on to

...

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