Paula Cho

Every month, at least two to three Indian-origin AI researchers in Silicon Valley between the ages of 25 and 35 reach out to Aakrit Vaish, founder of AI venture fund Activate, asking, “How can I come back to India and work in AI?” As we spoke, the Mumbai-based executive explained that Indian startups are hoping to capture top talent and capitalize on this precise moment in time.

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas, or magnificent humanity. The 83-page letter is about “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” and warns that AI power shouldn’t be concentrated in the hands of a few private companies, that jobs should be protected, and that there should be greater oversight and regulation. Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, was present at the briefing, and got a shoutout from the pope.

For at least the past two U.S. administrations, cutting China out of the tech supply chain has been a strategic goal in multiple industries. But the drone industry is one that has been years in the making with limited success, with China accounting for over 80% of the global market. Last September, a Taiwanese drone company became the first Asian firm to obtain clearance for providing drones for U.S. military use, with their China-free supply chain. I got a close look at how that happened.