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Trump and Top Officials Show Unified Support for Chief of Staff; VP Vance, "I Only Believe in Conspiracy Theories that Are True"; Trump Orders Blockade of Oil Tankers around Venezuela; Jack Smith to Face Questions about Trump Prosecutions; Bondi Beach Attack Comes amid Rising Antisemitism in Australia; Brown University Community Mourning Victims; "Intelligent Future". Aired 10-11a ET

Aired December 17, 2025 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, where time

is just after 7 in the evening. We're following a busy day in Washington.

The fallout is growing over a stunning "Vanity Fair" article, where president Trump's chief of staff said he had an alcoholic's personality and

called the vice president a conspiracy theorist.

At this hour, the U.S. Senate is being briefed on that controversial September strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela as

Trump orders a blockade of oil tankers around the country.

Also today, the former U.S. special counsel, Jack Smith is expected to testify about his prosecutions of Donald Trump.

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GIOKOS: All right. We begin in Washington, where the White House is in damage control mode after what the "Vanity Fair" interview with president

Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is calling it a hit piece.

But the quotes in the article are hard to dismiss, from describing her boss as having an alcoholic personality, to saying the handling of the Epstein

files by attorney general Pam Bondi was essentially a swing and miss.

Joining us now from Washington, we've got CNN's chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. And we've also got Stephen Collinson, our

senior political reporter.

All right, Stephen, good to have you with us.

Welcome to both of you.

And I want to start off with you, Stephen, because, I mean, it's pretty crazy to read some of these quotes. And there's been a lot of backlash. The

story is blowing up globally. But I want you to take me through why, when, what we heard from Susie Wiles is so controversial and basically shocked so

many people.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think, first of all, the fact that this is candid and on the record, Susie Wiles, the White

House chief of staff, is somebody who almost never speaks publicly.

If you watch the coverage from president Trump in the Oval Office, during his press conference, she's always sitting off to the side, eschewing the

limelight. Trump has called on her up to come up on stage in various occasions in the past and she's not done so.

So she is a shadowy, behind-the-scenes figure who also, you know, ran the Trump campaign in 2024 expertly and has imposed some order, at least in the

early months of the Trump White House, on this administration.

So to have her speaking candidly and to have such explosive quotes, I think that is the reason why this is such a big deal. And I think a lot of people

were watching president Trump's reaction to this. He typically values loyalty above all else. He doesn't like people in his inner circle speaking

out of turn.

So far, I think he's taken this fairly well. But sometimes the president reacts to the coverage of event in the following days rather than the event

itself.

GIOKOS: Jeff, in this piece, Susie Wiles had some stinging criticism for some of her colleagues. She said attorney general Pam Bondi completely

whiffed with her handling of the Epstein files and called Vance a conspiracy theorist. Here was Vance's response last night. Take a listen to

this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true.

And by the way, Susie and I have joked in private and in public about that for a long time.

And the last thing I'll say is, if any of us have learned a lesson from that "Vanity Fair" article, I hope that the lesson is we should be giving

fewer interviews to mainstream media outlets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: So why was Wiles criticizing her own administration?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I mean, I think as Stephen was alluding to there, Susie Wiles is really the first

among equals. There is no one who really has the stature that she has in the White House. And if you look at the entire story, if you read the

entire story, she is largely positive of president Trump.

[10:05:02]

There is no doubt that she supports him to the end, literally, of the Earth. However, she is trying to, it seemed to me, do a little bit of a

potential work for her own self after any time in the administration. This is one example.

On immigration, for example, she was a bit critical of the deportation of strategy that the president has embarked upon. She was slightly critical of

the president's tariff policy. At least she pointed out that she tried to slow things down because there was disagreement among the a team of

advisers. The president went ahead.

So to me, if you're kind of looking ahead, what's the next job a chief of staff might have at some point?

Perhaps to serve on corporate boards or other things, kind of trying to send the message that, yes, I'm with president Trump but I also see some of

the issues here.

But on Pam Bondi, the attorney general, those were perhaps the most stinging words, saying she whiffed on the Jeffrey Epstein matter. The

translation for that is she didn't handle it well. In fact, she made things worse. She deepened the issues after she claimed that she had the Epstein

files on her desk; obviously not true.

She produced these binders of information months ago, early on in the administration, that she thought would be enough to send the MAGA loyalists

who are concerned about this on their way. It wasn't. So it actually made the whole situation worse.

So the bottom line is, why did she do this?

I think part of it is, even though Susie Wiles does not talk to reporters, perhaps caught up a bit and flattered by her own place in history as the

first woman to be chief of staff. Chris Whipple, the author of the "Vanity Fair" piece, he's effectively a scholar who writes about chiefs of staff.

He writes about White House chiefs of staff. So that she clearly had a give-and-take with him over 11 interviews over the last year, she clearly

enjoyed some of these conversations. And these were some of the moments that she obviously had disagreements with the president.

But I think, most tellingly, is the president is showing no signs of wanting to dispatch with her. He needs her. He knows that.

So a question, I mean, something we'll have to look at over the next coming weeks, is this going to weaken her internally?

I kind of doubt that it will. But certainly one of those intriguing end-of- year things in Washington that came from somewhat of an unlikely source.

GIOKOS: Yes. And this is a really good point, because the White House hasn't denied any of what she said. I mean, they're not happy. They say it

should have had better context.

So Stephen, my question to you -- and importantly here -- what is the White House strategy around Susie Wiles?

COLLINSON: Well, you saw them come out yesterday and do their usual, well, this is out of context, which basically means, in Washington, that's a code

for, well, it's true but it's not very flattering to us. They didn't challenge the substance of this as you said.

I think as Jeff said, you know, if Susie Wiles emerges from this, saying things that are blunt and public and embarrassing to the administration and

she comes out of this without a scratch, that only enhances her power and mystique.

I think the other issue is, well, if Trump were to become angry with her, decide that he wants her to go, who is he going to put in her place?

There is nobody with the administrative skills and the authority and the closeness to Trump, I think, that could run this White House in the same

way that she did. She has balanced a lot of competing egos and testosterone in that White House.

And she's basically made it a much more functioning place than it was during the first term of Trump's administration. We're getting toward the

end of the first year here and no one senior has really left the administration. There's been a lot less acrimony and leaking to the press.

Someone like Stephen Miller, the president's senior adviser, who's behind a lot of the immigration policy, I think he would be seen as a potential

successor. But he could inject all sorts of chaos into the West Wing himself. And I think it would be a lot less harmonious place.

So as Jeff said, Trump needs Susie Wiles. And I think that is the key to a lot of her strength. There will be a lot of Republicans in Washington who

will be hoping that she remains there for the entire four years, which will be quite unusual for a White House chief of staff.

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, it basically shows just how much power she has.

But also, Jeff, I want you to take a listen to Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Who told our Kaitlan Collins that the dam is breaking in the Republican Party and it's just basically showing.

I mean, is division occurring?

Take a listen to what what's going on.

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REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I think the dam is breaking. Many Republicans may not have called him out. But last week, 13 Republicans

voted with Democrats to overturn one of President Trump's executive orders, which enabled him to fire federal workers.

We also saw Indiana Republicans vote against redistricting. He didn't call any of them traitors and call for primaries against them.

But I would like to say that that is a sign, where you're seeing Republicans, they're entering the campaign phase for 2026, which is a large

signal that lame duck season has begun and that Republicans will go in, all-in for themselves, in order to save their own reelections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: So Jeff, what do you make of that?

ZELENY: Well, look, Marjorie Taylor Greene is exhibit A of a political breakup here that happened. No one would have predicted that she would be,

A, leaving Congress in the middle of her third term but also had this very dramatic break with the president.

To her point, whether the dam is breaking, there's no doubt that it is loosening up a bit. I'm not sure it's breaking entirely. I mean, the

reality is that president Trump still has a very firm grip and hold on the Republican Party.

But we have not really seen as many examples of Republicans just increasingly feeling more comfortable to go their own way and say, I

disagree and defy him. That is really something that we have not seen much of over his terms in office. So we will see if the dam actually breaks.

I mean, there's no doubt that Republicans who are running for reelection will be increasingly willing to put some distance between themselves or try

and do so between the president and themselves. We're seeing that happening at this hour on Capitol Hill with the extension of health care subsidies,

with the Republican leadership there.

But look, there is no doubt, every second term president, president Trump is no exception, has a difficult road as the midterm election year

approaches. The interesting, intriguing thing of all this is, you know, he kind of always talked about a third term. That, of course, is folly, never

going to happen.

And even Susie Wiles acknowledged that in the interview. So we're seeing a very mortal president here. And what happens in the second year, I think,

will be fascinating to watch, to see really a president become a lame duck in office. Stephen and I have covered a lot of these presidents and it

happens to every single one of them.

GIOKOS: Yes. OK. So very quickly, because I think not so much, it's not only about what we read and the messaging but also the pictures of Trump's

inner circle.

Very quickly. Jeff, what do you make of the pictures that were taken?

The photographs?

ZELENY: Well, look, I mean, JD Vance has said we shouldn't talk to mainstream media. He certainly found time in his schedule to pose for

photographs. So the reality is this was a sanctioned interview from the very top and even White House officials like the glossy treatment of

"Vanity Fair."

GIOKOS: OK, Stephen, very quickly, the pictures, there's a lot of talk around that.

COLLINSON: Yes, I think people are taking their place in history right now. They're feeling pretty good. They're feeling powerful. "Vanity Fair"

is the kind of great 20th century institution, media institution that Donald Trump probably took a lot of attention to, like "Time" magazine.

So maybe they thought they could get in front of the president's eyes and make an impression that way.

GIOKOS: Stephen Collinson, Jeff Zeleny, great to have you on. Thank you so much for joining me.

Right. Two developments now involving Venezuela are unfolding on Capitol Hill today, both happening behind closed doors. This hour, the Senate Armed

Services Committee is receiving a classified briefing on the September 2nd double tap strikes targeting alleged narcotraffickers in the Caribbean.

And next hour, the House Armed Services Committee will hear the same briefing again out of public view. Those closed door sessions come as

president Trump sharply escalates pressure on Caracas. The president has ordered what he calls a total and complete blockade of oil tankers going to

and leaving Venezuela.

We've got Alayna Treene standing by for us in Washington for an update.

This total blockade on Venezuelan oil and the strikes on the narco boats continue at a very telling Truth Social post from president Trump. Tell me

what he said and how consequential this is about the aims and what they're trying to achieve.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's incredibly significant and it is just the latest major, I should argue, escalation that we've seen this

Trump administration, the president specifically, trying to really put pressure on Nicolas Maduro.

Now this also comes, I should note, after Trump announced that he was designating Venezuela as a foreign terrorist organization.

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That has major implications that could make it easier for them to kind of carry out these types of operations.

Now as I mentioned, this puts unprecedented pressure on Maduro. But it also, you know, the impact of this could be huge. It's not entirely clear

what is going to happen once they begin trying to seize more of these vessels, like we saw with the skipper earlier this month.

But there's no question that there's going to be a major impact on their already struggling economy. It could even potentially bankrupt Venezuela. I

do want to read for you what the president posted.

He said, quote, "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only get bigger.

And the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.

"Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land and other assets they previously stole from us."

I do want to be clear, Eleni, that last line where he says they have stole all of these assets, that is not necessarily correct. We have asked the

White House for clarification on what exactly he means there.

And I should note as well, the response from Maduro's government, from Venezuela, they argued that this is just an example of what they say is the

president's true goal, which they argued was to steal the wealth of our country.

Again, this is just the latest in what we've seen a number of steps to really try and pressure Maduro. And what I find interesting, it kind of

plays into the conversation you were having earlier about this "Vanity Fair" piece.

The White House and all of the officials, you know, if you talk to them publicly, they will only say that this entire pressure campaign is about

trying to limit the flow of drugs into the United States.

However, Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, when she talked to "Vanity Fair," she kind of made clear what the other goal, one of the main

goals about all of this is, which is essentially to try and force Maduro to leave his post.

She said in "Vanity Fair" that Trump wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.

That is a major thing to say on the record and, of course, does kind of go against what people have been trying to tell us, which is maintaining that

this is all about trying to cut down on what they say is narco terrorists and trafficking of these types of drugs.

GIOKOS: Alayna Treene, always good to have you on. Thank you so much for that update.

All right. Coming up on the show, Jack Smith brought federal charges against Donald Trump back in 2023. Now he's being called up to defend those

actions in front of the House Judiciary Committee, led by a Trump ally. We'll explain after this.

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GIOKOS: Former U.S. special counsel Jack Smith is testifying privately before the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee today in

Washington. He saw Smith walk in just a few moments ago. He's a Biden-era official who brought federal charges against Donald Trump back in 2023.

The hearing was called by the chairman of the committee, Jim Jordan, a close ally of president Trump. CNN's Annie Grayer has more from Capitol

Hill for us.

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ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Smith has been a top target for House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan, as Republicans have argued that

Smith's two criminal investigations against Trump have been politically motivated.

And that they -- that he used those that he used those investigations to weaponize the federal government against Trump, his allies and even

conservatives. But Smith wants to answer questions. We're told that he even wanted this to be a public hearing where everyone could hear what he had to

say.

But Jim Jordan decided that he wanted this to be a closed door deposition. One thing that we know for certain is going to come up is Smith's

subpoenaing of lawmaker phone records.

We know that at least nine Republicans had their phone records subpoenaed as part of this investigation. Republicans are furious about this. Smith

wants to speak about how those phone records were used and discuss how only the phone numbers and length of calls were included, not the -- not the

contents of the call.

But there are a lot of things that Smith can and can't talk about. He wants to be forthcoming here so that Jim Jordan is, you know, satisfied by the

end of this deposition. But he also has to be mindful of the restrictions of his testimony.

For example, his final -- the second part of his final report into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents is still under seal by a court.

So there's only so much he can talk about there.

But Jim Jordan is by no means done with his investigation. I reported yesterday that there are four of Smith's top deputies that he also wants to

interview by the end of the month. So we will be outside of this room waiting for Smith's arrival. We're expecting it to go a lot of today.

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GIOKOS: The surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre now faces 50 murder charges. He's also charged with 40 counts of attempted murder and

committing a terrorist act.

The charges come after the first funerals for the victims, who include rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl. CNN's Will Ripley has

more on the funerals and the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Australia leading up to the massacre

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The hearse has just arrived with the bodies of one of the rabbis. Let's just pause for a moment

and take this in.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): The funerals are now underway for the 15 people killed in Sunday's terror attack and some of the hardest scenes are here in

Redfern, where family and friends gathered to remember the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda. She leaves behind not just her parents but her younger

sister, Summer.

Sunday, the day of the attack, was a day of face painting, playing with goats and having fun with her parents, who say they were just briefly

separated in the crowd, a moment that turned into a nightmare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENTYNA, MATILDA BRITVAN'S MOTHER: She was running around happy and then in seconds what I see before my eyes is she is lying on the ground. I just

can't explain how it happened.

MICHAEL, MATILDA BRITVAN'S FATHER: I grabbed my shirt and I was talking to her because she was --

VALENTYNA: She was in shock.

MICHAEL: She was in shock. She was telling me that she -- it's hard to breathe. And I was -- I was holding -- I was holding her and I was like,

calm down, please, please, please. I was trying to pull her out but the shooting would just not stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

As this city mourns, families here are left with the same questions, how this happened and why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOT, WITNESS: It's our loss. It's our community's loss.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Elliot was there. He knows many of the victims.

RIPLEY: What's it like to grow up as a Jew here?

ELLIOT: You just live in, like, utopia here. This utopia has just turned to dystopia.

RIPLEY: Have you noticed a rise in anti-Semitism since October 7th, 2023?

ELLIOT: Incredibly. I mean.

RIPLEY: Here in Australia?

ELLIOT: Incredibly.

RIPLEY (voice-over): October 7th is when Hamas attacked Israel. The retaliation that followed has killed or injured more than 10 percent of

Gaza's population in the last two years. An independent U.N. inquiry said Israel is committing genocide. Israel denies that.

There have been protests worldwide, including here in Sydney. During this period, Australia, like many places, has seen a massive spike in anti-

Semitic attacks.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We want to stamp out and eradicate anti-Semitism from our society.

ELLIOT: The restaurant we're coming up to here was burnt down. There's a school, there's a daycare that was also burnt down. There's been anti-

Semitic graffiti. There's been kids having eggs thrown at them. There's everything.

It kind of has gotten lost. Not to us. We've been begging our government. We've been telling them -- swipe that way.

RIPLEY: I'm going to read some of them.

RIPLEY (voice-over): He shows me the comments to social media posts about the attack.

RIPLEY: Can you guys see this?

"Ha, ha, ha. Rot in hell."

"Rest in Bondi Beach piss water. You aren't a genocide defender."

Oh my God, I can't go on actually.

ELLIOT: You know, I don't even need to comment on that because ...

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RIPLEY: And this is -- I mean ...

ELLIOT: This is constant. I mean, this is everywhere.

Look at this view.

RIPLEY: I see what you mean by utopia.

ELLIOT: Things are going to be OK, because, at the end of the day, the one thing they can't take from us is that we live in the most beautiful place

on Earth.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Will Ripley, CNN, Sydney.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: And still to come, the urgent search for a mass shooter.

Are investigators any closer to identifying the suspect responsible for a deadly attack at Brown University?

We're following this developing story

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are here are your headlines.

The first funerals have been held for the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre. Among those laid to rest, the rabbi who organized the Hanukkah

event, where beachgoers were gunned down. Police have charged the surviving suspect with 15 counts of murder and dozens of other offenses.

Donald Trump has ordered a, quote, "total and complete blockade" of oil tankers to and from Venezuela. It's the latest escalation from the U.S.

president as he puts pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

The search for a suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University, now in its fifth day. Investigators have received hundreds of tips and are combing

through surveillance videos like this one as they search for a suspect. A former FBI assistant told CNN he believes investigators will see some

movement in this case over the next day or two.

CNN's Michael Yoshida is in Providence, Rhode Island, with more on that investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That person of interest being in this neighborhood, in this residential area, hours before this deadly shooting

took place. Just behind me, you can see the building still surrounded by crime scene tape.

As this investigation continues, we're now into day five of this manhunt, investigators again saying they've got these images, these new videos,

showing this person of interest scouting the area for some five hours before the shooting happened on Saturday.

Those new enhanced images and videos are being put out, though fair to ask if you can really get much from them. Still hard to see the face of the

person of interest. But investigators are hoping someone may recognize maybe the appearance, the body appearance, the way they're walking or

standing as they moved through this area.

Hundreds of tips already have come in as this community, still anxious, still waiting for answers and still processing and mourning the loss of

their community members, their fellow students. Two students were killed, Ella Cook as well as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.

[10:30:00]

They're being remembered by their classmates, by their family members. And we did hear from the sister of Umurzokov, speaking to CNN. Here's what she

had to say about how she wants her brother to be remembered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMIRA UMURZOKOVA, MUKHAMMAD AZIZ UMURZOKOV'S SISTER: He was the most kind hearted, funny; he was the most -- he was the smartest person I've ever

met. He, you know, he always helped someone before helped himself, you know, without any hesitation. He never, you know, lost sight of who he was

as a person.

And, you know, so many people have reached out to me, giving me little stories here and there of how he was. And it's just sort of reinforced what

he was like to our family. And it's just so nice hearing that from other people's perspectives, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, we're back with a very short -- we're back right after this very short break with more news, stick with CNN.

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GIOKOS: -- expanding its artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure right here in the UAE. For the latest installment of our "Intelligent

Future" series, exploring how advanced tech is shaping our lives.

Becky Anderson spoke to Microsoft president Brad Smith to help us understand how a recently announced $15 billion investment could improve

technology, talent and trust across the region.

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BRAD SMITH, CEO, MICROSOFT: The first thing I will say is, when you hear a number from us, it's real.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: It's big but it's real.

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ANDERSON: Brad, it's good to have you.

SMITH: Thank you. Good to be here.

ANDERSON: You recently announced Microsoft's $15 billion direct investment in the UAE through 2029. As I understand it, this is one of, if not the

biggest investment outside of the U.S.

SMITH: Correct. It's certainly the biggest in this region. It is. It is absolutely one of the biggest outside the United States. It began just 2.5

years ago. So it wasn't that long ago when the United States government and the UAE government asked us and asked me when I was here, to explore

getting more involved here.

And it turned in particular on this notion that the UAE and U.S. governments would connect more closely. G42, as the sovereign AI company

for the UAE, needed to find a partner in the United States. And they asked Microsoft to become that partner, which we were honored to do.

And what it has really done is put us on this journey. Now that journey includes more than $7 billion that we have spent here in the last 2.5

years, more than anything else, to broaden our AI and data center infrastructure here, to bring GPUs here. And we've seen that we have plans

now for more than another $7 billion between now and 2029.

ANDERSON: So there are three T's here, as I get it, as part of this partnership -- technology, talent and trust. Let's do the technology part.

You have secured unprecedented U.S. export approval for chips.

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Chips that otherwise the UAE is struggling to get their hands on. These are chips that power the AI revolution.

How pivotal was the U.S. government's decision to allow you to include these Nvidia chips for your strategy here?

SMITH: I think it's imperative for Microsoft and I think it's critical for the UAE. And as you know, the UAE is now the world leader in per capita AI

usage in the country, 59.4 percent.

ANDERSON: That's huge.

SMITH: It is, it is. But that is only possible because of the GPUs that are accessible here. It was critical for Microsoft because our whole

strategy here has been to partner with G42 and then also expand our own data center capacity.

You know, this focus on technology, talent and trust, in my view, speaks so strongly to what the UAE is doing and what I would suggest is important to

do. The technology piece is where everybody starts.

The good news is this is a place where it doesn't end, especially when you think about the role of AI in technology service for the public, like TAM,

just renewing your driver's license, paying your parking tickets, reporting a pothole.

All of these things, which I just think are just a fantastic example but it works because the public trusts TAM as a service. They trust the

government. And that is a lesson for the world.

And then at the same time, in a global market, in a market, where you have a government like the U.S. government, controlling the flow of GPUs, you've

got to build more trust between like-minded nations. And I see what Microsoft is doing here is both benefiting from all of that and hopefully

giving back and nurturing it as well.

ANDERSON: You've committed to training a million Emiratis by 2027. I just wonder what your vision is for turning those graduates into true AI

innovators, not just users of the technology.

SMITH: There's two things here that I think are worth noting. One is you can create your own, you know, copilot; you can create your own agent.

We're going to all live in this world where we create these agents, which are a fancy way of saying, you know, you can take an AI tool, like from a

company like Microsoft or G42.

And you can build your own version and you don't have to learn to the code and you can put it to work to help you.

The second thing that I find so inspiring is you're starting to hear a phrase in the industry, AI native. We -- it came from digital native, the

notion that people who grew up always having had a phone, a smartphone or a laptop or whatever.

So AI natives are people who just don't give a second thought to turning to an AI tool to go do what they want to do. And this is going to be, I think,

a big shift.

ANDERSON: You've been in this industry for years. I think you've been at Microsoft since 1993. It's been around technology for decades.

Can you just reflect, if you will, on where we are at present?

SMITH: We're at a fascinating point in time. You know, for most of the folks who will listen or watch this, we've lived most of our lives with

digital technology around us. And they completely transformed the first quarter of the century.

Now I think we should all pause for a moment and recognize that, on January 1st, we will start the second quarter of the 21st century. So think about

everything that's happened in 25 years. And now let's think about 25 years ahead.

ANDERSON: What does that next quarter of a century look like?

SMITH: Well, I'll give you the first, the biggest opportunity. And then the two biggest challenges.

You know, being in a place like Abu Dhabi, you really do see the opportunity. You know, you really see how this country and this government

is, for example, using AI to improve health, to drive advances in medical research, to improve everyday life for people as they interact with the

government and require government services.

That's a slice of just this enormous range of all of the benefits AI is going to create.

Now we have two big challenges. The first is one that people do tend to talk a fair amount about, especially in cyber and security circles you will

see this amalgamation of AI and smaller and more powerful chips and massive numbers of drones. And you will see warfare change and we should worry

about that.

[10:40:00]

And then the other challenge that I think is absolutely profound is what will happen to the world if, let's just say for a moment, take one slice.

The countries of Europe all have AI but the countries of Africa do not. That will widen the economic gap between north and south, at a time where

the gap is already very wide.

ANDERSON: So there's two points there.

So firstly, what are you doing to address that divide?

And secondly, I want you to talk about responsible AI. I mean Microsoft is embedded in what is the responsible AI future foundation here.

SMITH: Now one thing that gives me optimism we are building data center infrastructure in the global south, not just in a single country. And

you're seeing other companies start to do more of that as well.

What we've done just in the last few years with partners is actually bring digital and internet connectivity to a quarter of a billion people in the

world who did not have it, including 100 million in Africa.

Now then you get to the second piece of this, the ethical issues. The good news, in my opinion, is that, responsible AI as it's called or ethical AI

has become a well defined discipline.

What we've created and founded here in Abu Dhabi with G42, what, as you said, the responsible AI future foundation is really about, in my view,

doing two things.

One is taking this knowhow and better connecting with and spreading it across the global south. And second, nurturing its continued development.

It's not like it's fully baked. It needs to be sensitive to the needs of different societies, different cultural values and interests.

Give the global south a voice. Find ways to so we can all learn from that as well.

ANDERSON: That's fantastic. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, that's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "MARKETPLACE ASIA" is up next. From me, Eleni Giokos, thanks for joining us. And I'll

see you same time tomorrow.

END