On August 14, Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow Owen Daniels published an article, “China’s Soft Power Tools and Whether They Work,” in War on the Rocks. In the article, Daniels examines China’s strategic use of open AI platforms as a tool of soft power, highlighting how models like DeepSeek’s R1 and Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2 pose both technological and diplomatic challenges for the United States.
Forward Defense leads the Atlantic Council’s US and global defense programming, developing actionable recommendations for the United States and its allies and partners to compete, innovate, and navigate the rapidly evolving character of warfare. Through its work on US defense policy and force design, the military applications of advanced technology, space security, strategic deterrence, and defense industrial revitalization, it informs the strategies, policies, and capabilities that the United States will need to deter, and, if necessary, prevail in major-power conflict.