January 16, 2019
How Congress can help ensure US leadership in artificial intelligence
The age of artificial intelligence is upon us. AI is no longer a future technology but a present one. The AI revolution is highly global, with nations such as China playing a leading role in AI innovation. The 116th Congress has a valuable part in ensuring continued American competitiveness in AI innovation, especially human capital development and smart, sensible regulation.
The U.S. lacks a comprehensive national AI strategy. By contrast, over a dozen other nations and international organizations have published AI strategies. For example, the European Union has released its AI strategy with a focus on investing in its innovation ecosystem, developing talent, building a common data space in compliance with data principles, and developing ethics to create trust. According to the EU Commission, “the ambition is then to bring Europe’s ethical approach to the global stage.”
China, meanwhile, has emerged as a peer competitor to the United States in AI and has announced its intention to lead the world in AI by 2030, which poses a myriad of economic, human rights and security concerns. The United States lags on creating a national plan and will need to build a comprehensive AI strategy to maintain technological leadership and responsibly harness the opportunities AI presents.
Read the full article and more in The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | Setting the Rules for AI WarfareThe escalating feud between the Pentagon and Anthropic, one of world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies, highlights a crucial question that will shape security i...
By Paul Scharre
-
Video
Technology & National Security
The Pentagon and Anthropic - NBC’s Meet the Press NowPresident Trump is in Texas speaking about the economy ahead of the state’s high-stakes primary. Retired Lt. Gen. John “Jack” Shanahan, CNAS adjunct senior fellow and former d...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Fighting AI Cyberattacks Starts with Knowing They’re HappeningThis article was originally published in Lawfare. Anthropic reported in November 2025 that Chinese threat actors used its Claude model to launch widespread cyberattacks on com...
By Janet Egan & Michelle Nie
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
The Sovereignty Gap in U.S. AI StatecraftThis article was originally published in Lawfare. As the India AI Impact Summit kicks off this week, the Trump administration has embraced the language of “sovereign AI.” Thro...
By Pablo Chavez
