How Could Artificial Intelligence Change the World of Think Tanks?, with Dan Baer

In this episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Dan Baer, a senior vice president at the Washington, DC–based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His role offers a vantage point for unique insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) may affect the think tank world and its research contributions. Baer elaborates on some “emergent intuitions” that he articulates in a recent article published by Carnegie, in which he reckons with an AI world that’s newly emerging but nonetheless demands deep consideration of old philosophical foundations. Baer describes how AI may change the approach that research institutions take—and may need to take—moving forward. References and recommendations: “Mission over Model: What Might AI Mean for an Organization Like Carnegie?” by Dan Baer; https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/08/artificial-intelligence-ai-technology-research-think-tanks “The End of History and the Last Man” by Francis Fukuyama; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_the_Last_Man “The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek” by Andrew Durbin; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374609559/thewonderfulworldthatalmostwas/ “Terra Incognita: The Economics of a Shrinking World” by Jesús Fernández-Villaverde and Patrick Norrick; https://www.nber.org/papers/w35809 Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/