This report is part of the larger compendium “Future-Proofing U.S. Technology: Strategic Priorities Amid Chinese Tech Advancement.”
Read the full report
Read the full compendium
Executive Summary
Much of today’s discussions on emerging technologies often equate national power with production and innovation, prioritizing the former. While these technologies have tremendous potential to benefit society, discourse is also centered on how competitors like the People’s Republic of China are progressing in these sectors and may threaten to surpass the United States. However, there is a flaw in the way we determine which country is ahead, leaving us to rely on flawed interpretations of power and competition. The United States needs a clear path to understanding and reinforcing its leadership in key technological sectors such as artificial intelligence.
The notion of deregulation for innovation is alluring, but such federal regulatory ambiguity and uncertainty and the need to comply with varying state-level regulations ultimately leads to increased, and potentially burdensome, investment in resources for compliance efforts. Additionally, along with direct AI regulation, the country also needs policies that encourage and foster an effective and resilient infrastructure and workforce; without them, the United States simply cannot maintain its global standing and further advance to keep pace with global competition.
Developing, Implementing and Safeguarding AI
This report explores aspects of AI development the United States should prioritize to lead in the sector over the long-term. This includes aligning innovation with democratic values such as autonomy, privacy, transparency, and fairness as well as creating and deploying innovative AI products and services while making substantial investments in sustainable resources and infrastructures and maintaining a commitment to ethically sound policy for governance.
Policy Recommendations
- Develop federal comprehensive data privacy regulation that is technology-agnostic
- Reconsider changes to the Foreign Agents Registration Act to protect domestic AI innovation from interference from foreign adversaries
- Reform the student visa program to encourage employment in the United States and retention of trained talent
- Funding for development of AI training programs at academic institutions to develop current students as well as potentially displaced workers
- Restructure tariffs and continue support for semiconductor subsidies from the CHIPS and Science Act to stimulate reshoring domestic chip production
- Dedicate additional resources and support for the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Commit to international collaboration and global governance initiatives to maintain geopolitical power
Divya Ramjee is an assistant professor, and director of the Technology & Policy Lab, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is also an adjunct fellow (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Dr. Ramjee’s research focuses on security, privacy, and policy issues related to cybersecurity, cryptocurrency and blockchain analytics, and AI and other emerging technologies. She has previously worked at various federal government agencies including the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and, most recently, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Evan Selinger is a Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology, where, among other courses, he teaches the Ethics of AI for the graduate AI program. His extensive research focuses on the ethics of technology and includes three books published by Cambridge University Press: Move Slow and Upgrade, Re-Engineering Humanity, and The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Privacy. Committed to public engagement and public service, he is a contributing writer at The Boston Globe, a frequent contributor to the LA Review of Books, and a member of the Institute for Defense Analysis’s Ethical, Legal, and Social/Societal Working Group.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not an official policy or position of New Lines Institute.
