Mind The Gap
The “Mind the Gap” series spotlights disconnects between strategic ambition and institutional execution. Whether in economic development, technology, infrastructure, or alliances, these short essays expose policy blind spots, misaligned incentives, and implementation lags that weaken allied coherence.
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Building an AI Stack the World Wants to Choose
Building an AI Stack the World Wants to Choose
Over the past several months, as the U.S. government has begun exploring how to structure “tech stacks” for AI exports, one theme has emerged in nearly every conversation I’ve had with innovators: deep anxiety that Washington’s approach might inadvertently advantage one segment of the tech industry over another. You hear it in the voice of the […]
Learn MoreThe AI Systems Race Runs Through India
The AI Systems Race Runs Through India
Strategic competition is no longer decided by who invents the most advanced technology. It is decided by who can assemble, finance, and deploy entire systems—at scale, at speed, and over time. In that contest, India has quietly become the most important proving ground in the world. Not because India is declaring technological leadership. Not because it is aligning […]
Learn MoreThe Nuclear Stack: Why America Needs a Coherent Strategy for the Atomic Age
The Nuclear Stack: Why America Needs a Coherent Strategy for the Atomic Age
The United States is racing to build a technology stack for the 21st century—chips, compute, data centers, talent, standards, and alliances to secure leadership in artificial intelligence. But there is a dangerous mismatch between our digital ambition and our physical preparedness. There is no tech stack without an energy stack. And there is no credible energy stack […]
Learn MoreMade in Democracy
Made in Democracy
This post launches my Made in Democracy series, part of my broader Mind the Gap effort to expose the distance between what democracies aspire to achieve and the tools they have prepared to achieve it. From Arsenal to Afterthought In the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. was the world’s leading manufacturer. The U.S. produced […]
Learn MoreOutrunning the Dragon Means Running Together
Outrunning the Dragon Means Running Together
Author’s Note This essay opens my new series, Toward a Trusted Tech Alliance, exploring how democracies can move from fragmentation to common cause in the digital era. At its core is what I call a Digital Steel Accord — in other words, a foundational agreement on data and AI standards, narrow enough to be practical […]
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Artificial Intelligence, Blog, Digital, Finance, Indo-Pacific, Infrastructure, Standards, Technology, Telecom, Trade
The AI Systems Race Runs Through India
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by Mark Kennedy
February 4, 2026
