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Technology is important. For a century, Britain led the world based on innovations in coal and steam power. For the second century, America led the world it is based on electrification, materials science and mass production.
and now, with promising artificial intelligence to boost the economy and strengthen national security, America has an opportunity to lead in the next century. However, with China ramping up its AI investments, pouring billions into data centers and integrating AI into its economy, we can’t take the outcome for granted.
And China’s investment in the technology sector as a whole is clearly paying off. A recent expert report reveals that America has lost its lead in most key technologies to its rival. From 2003 to 2007, China led in only three of 64 technologies, but now leads in 57. And while the US led in 60 of 64 technologies, we now lead in only 7.
Former President Trump arrives at an election night party, November 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/AP)
WITH China is now scaling everything up from solar panels to electric cars, and graduating four times as many computer scientists as America, it is on track to become an innovation superpower by 2030.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. lead in AI, albeit small, has the potential to tip the scales and seize a huge opportunity: McKinsey estimates that AI could add up to $22.1 trillion a year to the global economy—almost as much as the entire U.S. economy today.
What is needed is an American pro-innovation AI agenda that promotes scientific leadership and turns breakthrough innovations in AI and quantum computing into practical tools with widespread benefit.
The alphabet of securing American leadership in the field of artificial intelligence
The good news in an era of tight budgets is that AI is largely funded and it was developed by the American private sector, which annually invests hundreds of billions in research and development. Led by technology, America’s top 25 companies will invest more than $328 billion in America by 2023.
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That commitment to investing in our future will only intensify, but we need constructive government policies to complement the development of cutting-edge private sector algorithms, world-leading computing (chips and data centers and the energy to power them), digital infrastructure and undersea cables.
The Trump administration has an opportunity to accelerate progress by setting an agenda that is aligned, balanced, and competitive.
Harmonized
We need to avoid a flurry of inconsistent laws—whether among America’s states or among Democratic allies—that will slow progress in AI innovation.
A comparison between America and Europe shows the toll that excessive regulation takes. A recent report by Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and head of the EU’s central bank, lays the blame European complex regulatory environment for slowing technological progress and creating a “vicious cycle of low investment and low innovation”.
In contrast, US lawmakers set us on a path to success in the 1990s by repealing statutes that would have chilled speech or hindered Internet growth, passed policies like the Internet Tax Freedom Act that helped nurture American startups, and fostered an innovative and dynamic private sector.
This approach is one of the reasons why, per person, US economic output is now about 40% higher than in Western Europe and Canada, and 60% higher than in Japan.
In short, streamlining and harmonizing rules is delivering results.
Balanced
AI has a risk of abuse, but it also has enormous potential. The approach of the new administration can promote not only innovation, but also the application of these extraordinary technologies.
The ideas are simple; execution is difficult. This is why we need to do more than just invest in the best AI in the world; we have to put it into operation.
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Streamlined federal procurement can make government a leader, encouraging businesses and institutions to adopt AI. Using artificial intelligence in our cyber defenses can give us a security edge, predicting future attacks, patching holes before adversaries can exploit them, and making America’s world-leading technology stack the global standard.
Competitive
Competitiveness requires not only promoting our innovation, but also not shooting ourselves in the foot with measures that would force the disclosure of US data and intellectual property to foreign actors or stop investment in top AI technologies.
Sometimes the greatest challenges require the greatest efforts to overcome. With that much at stake, we should double today’s versions of Bell Labs or Xerox PARC as key strategic assets.
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As President Trump has acknowledged, we must be at the forefront of artificial intelligence to create it A safer and stronger America. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate American scientific leadership, shape global standards, and restore America’s position as a global leader in innovation.
American ingenuity gave us a golden opportunity. The question now is whether we are ready to do what it takes to realize the potential of a new era of American innovation.
