World Collapse Expert: We’re Entering The Most Dangerous Global Power Vacuum Ever
Steven Bartlett (host), Ian Bremmer (guest), Steven Bartlett (host), Ian Bremmer (guest)
In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring Steven Bartlett and Ian Bremmer, World Collapse Expert: We’re Entering The Most Dangerous Global Power Vacuum Ever explores global power vacuum grows as US retreats, China rises, AI disrupts Bremmer argues the United States has become the world’s biggest source of geopolitical uncertainty as it rejects the rules and leadership role it previously built.
Global power vacuum grows as US retreats, China rises, AI disrupts
Bremmer argues the United States has become the world’s biggest source of geopolitical uncertainty as it rejects the rules and leadership role it previously built.
He describes a Middle East escalation—centered on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and spillover conflict in Lebanon—as a case study in how impulsive U.S. decision-making can trigger systemic global economic shocks.
He warns China’s decades-long strategy to control critical minerals, EV/battery supply chains, and technology standards positions it to set global rules even without overt military dominance.
He frames advanced AI as an underappreciated systemic risk, citing models capable of rapidly finding exploitable software vulnerabilities that could destabilize banks and critical infrastructure.
He proposes a pragmatic path to “utopia” that depends on new governance: AI arms-control with China, an AI “stability board,” and broad access programs so AI benefits don’t concentrate into a destabilizing techno-oligarchy.
Key Takeaways
The biggest geopolitical risk is now U.S. unpredictability, not a rival superpower.
Bremmer’s core claim is that Washington is actively dismantling the trade, security, and alliance norms it created, producing outsized global spillovers because even “small” U. ...
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The world is drifting toward a “G-Zero” power vacuum.
If the U. ...
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Iran’s leverage is less about nukes and more about the Strait of Hormuz.
He argues Iran can’t “win” conventionally but can impose global economic pain via shipping disruption/tolls, which creates bargaining power and complicates any clean U. ...
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Trump’s impulsiveness plus loyalty-first staffing increases tail risks.
Bremmer contrasts Trump’s first term (more internal constraints) with a second-term environment where advisers prioritize loyalty, reducing friction against high-risk moves and amplifying strategic miscalculation.
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A plausible off-ramp is nuclear compromise in exchange for strait-related concessions.
He predicts extended ceasefires and continued talks could yield partial Iranian concessions on enrichment if Iran retains a privileged, revenue-generating position over transit—paired with European/Indian escorting to stabilize shipping.
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China is winning by setting supply-chain choke points and technology standards.
Rather than short-term military gambits, China’s advantage comes from long-horizon investment in rare earths, processing, batteries, EVs, and other “inputs” that make other economies dependent and easier to pressure.
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AI’s near-term danger is systemic security failure, not just job loss.
Using the Anthropic example, Bremmer emphasizes models that can discover vulnerabilities at scale could enable widespread exploitation of banks, grids, water systems, and software—triggering market crashes and national security crises.
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Public backlash will target AI leaders and infrastructure before mass layoffs arrive.
He expects political friction—anger at data centers, resource costs, and elite capture—to drive a new populist wave even if unemployment effects unfold more slowly due to organizational inertia and labor resistance.
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The path to a better AI future requires governance modeled on financial stability cooperation.
He calls for (1) U. ...
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Notable Quotes
“The US has become the biggest driver of geopolitical uncertainty in the world.”
— Ian Bremmer
“If the Americans are no longer willing to act as the global leader, but no one else is capable of filling those shoes… you have a G Zero.”
— Ian Bremmer
“They created a model which is so powerful that they couldn't release it because it would've been an immediate systemic risk to the global economy and our security.”
— Ian Bremmer
“The biggest danger to the United States is not China. It's America.”
— Ian Bremmer
“I’m not worried about artificial general intelligence. I’m worried about human beings becoming more computer-like.”
— Ian Bremmer
Questions Answered in This Episode
In your “G-Zero” framing, what are the first concrete signs a country or company should watch for that the rules-based order has truly failed (beyond headlines)?
Bremmer argues the United States has become the world’s biggest source of geopolitical uncertainty as it rejects the rules and leadership role it previously built.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
On Iran: what specific concessions would count as a meaningful “compromise” on enrichment, and how would verification work if leadership is decentralized under wartime pressure?
He describes a Middle East escalation—centered on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and spillover conflict in Lebanon—as a case study in how impulsive U. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You suggest Iran may gain a tolling/privileged position in the Strait—who would enforce that arrangement, and how do you prevent it from becoming permanent coercive leverage?
He warns China’s decades-long strategy to control critical minerals, EV/battery supply chains, and technology standards positions it to set global rules even without overt military dominance.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How credible is the Kharg Island scenario operationally, and what would be the most likely Iranian asymmetric responses if the U.S. attempted it?
He frames advanced AI as an underappreciated systemic risk, citing models capable of rapidly finding exploitable software vulnerabilities that could destabilize banks and critical infrastructure.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Europe’s mistake: if you could pick only three reforms from the Draghi-style competitiveness agenda, which would most improve Europe’s leverage within 24 months?
He proposes a pragmatic path to “utopia” that depends on new governance: AI arms-control with China, an AI “stability board,” and broad access programs so AI benefits don’t concentrate into a destabilizing techno-oligarchy.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
These conversations aren't always easy, but nonetheless, they are important. So every single year, Professor Ian Bremmer, who's one of the world's leading political scientists, produces this risk report, and it highlights the top 10 biggest risks that everybody should be thinking about. And today, he's gonna talk to me about the three that matter the most. So he predicts that a US political revolution is on its way.
The US has become the biggest driver of geopolitical uncertainty in the world, and in my view, Trump will fail.
And he also says that the other thing everybody needs to be talking about and aware of is what's really playing out with AI behind the scenes.
They created a model which is so powerful that they couldn't release it because it would've been an immediate systemic risk to the global economy and our security, and artificial intelligence is eating its users, and we can talk about that.
And lastly, I wanna end on a point of optimism. Can we take this craziness and turn it into a utopia with realistic solutions? This is super interesting to me. My team give me this report to show me how many of you that watch this show subscribe, and some of you have told us, according to this, that you are unsubscribed from the channel randomly. So favor to ask all of you, please could you check right now if you've hit the subscribe button if you are a regular viewer of the show and you like what we do here. We're approaching quite a significant landmark on this show in terms of a subscriber number. So if there was one simple free thing that you could do to help us, my team, everyone here, to keep this show free, to keep it improving year over year and week over week, it is just to hit that subscribe button and to double-check if you've hit it. Only thing I'll ever ask of you. Do we have a deal? If you do it, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll make sure every single week, every single month, we fight harder and harder and harder and harder to bring you the guests and conversations that you wanna hear. I've stayed true to that promise since the very beginning of The Diary of a CEO, and I will not let you down. Please help us. Really appreciate it. Let's get on with the show. [upbeat music] Ian Bremmer, what is this document that I have in front of me here?
This is our top risk report. We put it out at the beginning of every year, try to help people around the world understand the risk environment globally.
So for the last 30 years, your firm has been trying to understand the world to help make better decisions based on the big picture of what's happening geopolitically.
Yeah.
And every year, your firm releases this top risk report.
Yeah.
The 2026 one appears to be pretty prophetic because a lot of the things that you list as the top risks are playing out before our eyes. For anyone that hasn't read this report, what are the most important subjects? You wrote this in January. We're now sat here in April, I believe.
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