Cole McFaul is a Senior Research Analyst and an Andrew W. Marshall Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where he mainly focuses on emerging technology competition in the Asia-Pacific and China’s science and technology ecosystem. Prior to joining CSET, Cole researched the political economy of China’s international engagement strategies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. Cole holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University.
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Civilian Tech Is Powering China’s Military
October 2025Sam Bresnick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Foreign Policy. In their piece, they examine how China is rapidly integrating civilian technological innovation into its military capabilities through a… Read More
A CSET report was highlighted in an article published by Inside AI Policy. The article delves into the findings of the report, noting China’s growing reliance on nontraditional vendors and research institutions in its AI-related… Read More
China’s AI Leap
September 2025Check out the recording and recap of CSET's event diving deep on China's military modernization below. Read More
CSET’s Cole McFaul shared his expert analysis in an article published by the South China Morning Post. The article examines how China’s military is systematically incorporating artificial intelligence into its operations by leveraging civilian universities… Read More
A CSET report was highlighted in an article published by Defense One. The article discusses China’s growing reliance on smaller, dual-use AI companies to support the People’s Liberation Army, often in ways that obscure foreign… Read More
China Is Using the Private Sector to Advance Military AI
September 2025CSET’s Cole McFaul and Sam Bresnick shared their expert analysis in an article published by The Wall Street Journal. The article examines how China’s military is systematically incorporating artificial intelligence into its operations by drawing… Read More
China’s efforts to develop AI-related military capabilities have garnered significant interest in the United States. Drawing on 2,857 AI-related defense contract award notices published between January 2023 and December 2024, this report finds that while… Read More
Research Fellow Sam Bresnick and Senior Research Analyst Cole McFaul named as Andrew W. Marshall Fellows. Read More
CSET’s Cole McFaul was quoted in a segment aired by NPR’s All Things Considered. The segment discusses the U.S. government’s decision to revoke visas for certain Chinese students. Read More
Inside the fight to shape Trump’s AI policy
March 2025CSET’s Cole McFaul was quoted in an article published by GZERO Media. The article discusses the Trump administration’s forthcoming AI Action Plan, which is expected to shape U.S. policy on artificial intelligence through the remainder… Read More
CSET’s Cole McFaul shared his expert analysis in an op-ed published by The Hill. In his piece, he discusses how China has become a global innovation leader, surpassing the U.S. in key technology sectors such as… Read More
Sam Bresnick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Barron's. In their piece, they highlight the growing challenge U.S. AI companies face from China's DeepSeek, which is offering advanced AI models… Read More
Fueling China’s Innovation: The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Its Role in the PRC’s S&T Ecosystem
October 2024The Chinese Academy of Sciences is among the most important S&T organizations in the world and plays a key role in advancing Beijing’s S&T objectives. This report provides an in-depth look into the organization and… Read More
In a special report published by the National Bureau of Asian Research, Cole McFaul examines opportunities and challenges of US-South Korea cooperation in artificial intelligence. Read More
Seoul’s Big Switch
February 2024In The Wire China's article, "Seoul's Big Switch", CSET’s Cole McFaul shares his expert insights on South Korea's semiconductor industry. Read More
Discover how the global landscape of STEM graduates is shifting, potentially reshaping the future of innovation and education worldwide. This blog post analyzes recent education data from the countries with the most graduates in Science,… Read More
This is a Korean translation of the August 2023 CSET Data Brief "Assessing South Korea's AI Ecosystem."… Read More
This data brief examines South Korea’s progress in its development of artificial intelligence. The authors find that the country excels in semiconductor manufacturing, is a global leader in the production of AI patents, and is… Read More
Lessons From the Ukraine-Russia War
March 2023CSET’s Jaret C. Riddick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an article published by Issues in Science and Technology. Read More