Tom Friedman: AI, China, Globalization and America’s Next Era | Coffee with Ken

Video Description

Thomas Friedman joins Coffee with Ken for a wide-ranging conversation on AI, China, globalization, democracy, and the forces reshaping the world. Recorded live in Washington, D.C. before a standing-room-only audience, Ken Biberaj sits down with the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and foreign affairs commentator to unpack what Thomas calls a historic phase change: the moment when artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and institutional fragility collide. Thomas shares a preview of the new book he is writing and offers one of the clearest frameworks yet for understanding this era, from the rise of AI and the breakdown of old governing systems to the growing complexity of U.S.-China relations, global trade, and democracy itself. This conversation explores: - why AI represents a true civilizational inflection point - what Thomas means by the “second big bang” - how the U.S. and China may be heading toward a new trust crisis - why old political institutions may be mismatched for a radically new era - what globalization got right, what it got wrong, and what comes next - why the health of democracy and journalism matters more than ever Hosted in partnership with @CAAspeakers and The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. If you care about the future of technology, foreign policy, democracy, and the bigger forces shaping our lives, this is a conversation worth watching. Chapters: 00:00 – Welcome and introduction 01:01 – Thomas Friedman’s new book 02:18 – The printing press, AI, and a historic phase change 06:26 – The “second big bang” and godlike technologies 10:34 – Can governments keep up with AI? 14:48 – China, trust architecture, and “everything becomes TikTok” 18:28 – Globalization, supply chains, and the U.S.-China challenge 19:31 – Naming the new era: the “polyscene” 28:00 – Ukraine, Gaza, and global disorder 29:34 – American democracy, Trump, and institutional strain 35:02 – Journalism, trust, and the future of the press 📍 Learn more: https://www.coffeewithken.com 📲 Follow Us: ▶️ YouTube: @coffeewithkenbiberaj 🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/kenbiberaj 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coffee.with.ken/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kenbiberaj 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biberaj/ #CoffeeWithKen #globalization #democracy #foreignpolicy #geopolitics #artificialintelligence #journalism #newyorktimes