Brandon McDonald Williams

That was back in June of 2020, an act that Washington says breached the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Now, NNSA administrator Brandon Williams reinforced accusations made earlier this year by State Department arms officials.

He told Axios that China is, quote, clearly conducting explosive nuclear testing and, quote, trying to hide it.

Beijing, for its part, denies the accusations and insists it continues to abide by the treaty.

While 10 states are pursuing similar paths, Tennessee has come out as the leading nuclear energy producer in the country, Hashimian said.

Hagerty spoke with Hashimian and National Nuclear Security Administration Director Brandon Williams at the Imagine If Summit, a two-day conference exploring where AI, energy infrastructure, Bitcoin, and open-source technology intersect.

Their conversation ranged from the global artificial intelligence arms race to nuclear energy production and alternative energy sources.

Last week, Senator Hagerty said he spoke with Jensen Huang of AI giant NVIDIA about implementing security guardrails for artificial intelligence.