The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) is a non-partisan U.S. think tank and private foundation focused on technology and security. Founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in October 2021, SCSP's stated mission is to "make recommendations to strengthen America’s long-term competitiveness as artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are reshaping our national security, economy, and society." It seeks to ensure that "America is positioned and organized to win the techno-economic competition between now and 2030."
SCSP is also a subsidiary of The Eric & Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, the Schmidt family's private foundation.
History
Inspired by the Rockefeller Special Studies Project launched in the 1950s and led by Henry Kissinger, SCSP seeks to expand on the work of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence by including other emerging technologies and issues of concern in its analyses.
Leadership
As of October 2023, SCSP's president and CEO is Ylli Bajraktari, former executive director of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Former Chief of Staff for the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) Michael Gable serves as Executive Vice President, and former Director of Operations and Designated Federal Officer for the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Angela Ponmakha serves as vice president and Chief of Staff. There are 30 full-time staff members.
Activities
SCSP's core work is divided into six panels, including: foreign policy, intelligence, defense, economy, society, and future tech platforms.
Recent notable events include the 2022 Global Emerging Technology Summit, at which U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, among other former senior U.S. and foreign government officials, delivered remarks. In May 2023, SCSP hosted the Ash Carter Exchange on Innovation and National Security attended by senior U.S. defense officials. In September 2023 SCSP hosted the 2023 Global Emerging Technology Summit, for which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered video remarks.
SCSP awarded a grant to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute to help with its Critical Technology Tracker project (published in March 2023). It also supports the Kissinger Center Papers project at Johns Hopkins University SAIS.
Board of advisors
As of October 2023, SCSP's board of advisors includes Michèle Flournoy, Nadia Schadlow, Robert O. Work, and William “Mac” Thornberry III.
Publications
Generative AI: The Future of Innovation Power, September 2023
AI Governance Authority Options Memo, June 2023
Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness, September 2022
In its coverage of the report, Axios wrote:"From SCSP's perspective, the geopolitical, technological, and ideological futures are all deeply interrelated: "By the end of this decade, we will know if we will live in a world shaped by free expression, tolerance, and self-determination or dictated by censorship and coercion."