When nations believe they possess a strategic technological advantage, they face a choice. They can protect that advantage by restricting access to it. Or they can spread it so widely that the rest of the world gets hooked on their technology.
China appears to be choosing the first path.
Recent reports indicate that Beijing is considering tighter controls on the export of its most advanced artificial intelligence models, treating frontier AI as a national security asset available to foreign users only under restrictive conditions. If true, this suggests that China’s leadership has concluded that the country’s long-term success depends on jealously guarding its best technologies.
The United States should take the opposite approach.
America has repeatedly become the world's technological leader not by keeping its innovations at home, but by making them indispensable abroad. American operating systems, cloud computing, software platforms, financial services, entertainment, and internet companies became global standards because businesses and consumers everywhere wanted to use them. This meant enormous profits for U.S. companies—and expanded influence for the U.S. It also ensured that America remained the top destination for global talent, and set the stage for future innovation that would further U.S. dominance.
We have the opportunity to do this again with AI. The United States leads the world in AI innovation and investment. Our frontier models have always been best-in-class. But the gap is narrowing.
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