Envoys of Friendship

AI agents are like middle schoolers; assessing progress from the Trump/Xi summit; combatting the security dilemma with summitry; creating new communication channels for AI incidents; panda diplomacy and overplaying one’s panda hand; some small movements toward AI governance; why AI resorts to deception; and Marcus is a summit optimist *The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.* Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted. Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop. [Please send us your questions or comments!](mailto:cheaptalkpod@gmail.com?subject=Feedback) *Further Reading:* Nicholas Wheeler and Marcus Holmes. 2026. “Trump and Xi face an AI security dilemma – but face‑to‑face diplomacy could be a start in mitigating it.” The Conversation, September 24. See all Cheap Talk episodes