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OPINION — In a world that is more digitally connected than ever, technology has become central to democracy and security. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum and cloud computing hold enormous potential to create greater prosperity and enhance our lives.
In the wrong hands, however, these technologies pose serious threats to national and economic security. Authoritarian governments are leveraging emerging technology to proliferate the use of surveillance, disinformation, and cyber threats. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is expanding its access to sensitive data and pursuing dominance in critical technology supply chains. Beijing took advantage of the openness of the international system at the start of the twenty-first century and now seeks to dominate in strategic technologies.
The PRC is making rapid gains in emerging technology. While the United States and its allies have implemented export controls to prevent the PRC’s access to advanced semiconductors, the PRC is pouring significant funding into its domestic development of advanced chips and AI capabilities. Chinese companies such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), and Huawei are rapidly expanding across international markets. Enabled by significant government support, these companies offer dramatically reduced pricing for customers around the world, undermining Western competitors and creating dependencies on PRC technology. The U.S. Intelligence Community has underscored that Beijing’s goals in emerging technologies pose serious risks to national and economic security.
Maintaining a U.S. edge over China
The United States must maintain its leadership in emerging technologies to ensure that technological advances favor democratic values and strengthen U.S. national security. Cooperation between the public and private sector is key to bolstering U.S. technological innovation. History has proven that the private sector often innovates faster and more efficiently than government. While the United States leads in technological innovation and public-private sector cooperation, there is much more we can do to bolster our tech sector, particularly as we face threats from the PRC.
Innovative organizations like In-Q-Tel, the U.S. Intelligence Community’s venture capital firm, and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a Department of Defense (DoD) organization to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies, are helping to bridge the gap. Other groups such as Advanced Technology International (ATI) are also making strides to bolster R&D collaboration and convene the broader innovation community. ATI brings together innovative companies, technology-focused consortia, and the DoD to advance transformative technologies that can support the U.S. national security enterprise. The United States should look to organizations like ATI on how to incentivize and strengthen public-private partnership.
At a recent conference in Europe, several executives from large European defense firms told me that they were envious of the tech environment in the United States, and the level of cooperation between the private sector and government. European nations are still struggling to foster greater public-private sector tech cooperation.
Time to boost transatlantic cooperation
The United States must prioritize greater transatlantic cooperation on technology policy to foster innovation. This cooperation must extend to addressing strategic threats posed by the PRC. While there remain disagreements over issues such as tech sector regulation and digital trade policy, the United States and its European partners are becoming increasingly aligned on issues including PRC industrial overcapacity and the need to leverage the benefits from AI while addressing risks and safety. The U.S. and European governments must bolster public-private partnerships to create cutting-edge technology so that democracies can stay ahead of the PRC in strategic priority areas.
We are only beginning to realize the potential that emerging technologies hold to transform our lives. These technologies will enable enormous breakthroughs across all industries. However, the technological advances of tomorrow demand an aggressive policy effort to adapt and improve today. The United States must bolster its leadership in technological innovation, and work to strengthen public-private sector cooperation at home and with allies and partners around the world.
Next steps
To achieve this, the United States should create a blue ribbon commission on emerging technologies and national security to bolster domestic innovation, strengthen economic competitiveness, and compete with China. A model to consider is President Ronald Reagan’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, led by a leading tech innovator of the time, David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard fame), considered one of the Founding Fathers of Silicon Valley.
The Commission on Defense Management led to significant reforms in the Pentagon’s command structure and the defense acquisition process. Today’s commission on emerging technologies should also lead to impactful policy changes, so that the national security enterprise can fully harness commercial innovation in these critical technologies. Such changes should include: 1) how the national security enterprise procures emerging technologies, 2) ensuring the federal workforce has the skills to leverage the technologies of the future, and 3) harmonizing government regulation to ensure innovation is at the center of national security capabilities.
The commission on emerging technology should be a public-private partnership, with industry, government, and academia represented. Its tenure must be short-term (two years or less), to incentivize speed so the U.S. government can keep up with changes in emerging technology. The commission’s findings and recommendations would be conveyed directly to the President. These findings could lay the groundwork for the concept of an American sovereign wealth fund focused on critical investments for U.S. interests, including in emerging technology.
Now it is time to get to work. We need to create clear demand signals, expand R&D for dual-use technologies, and create an intentional strategy so the defense industrial base does not atrophy. The ability to maintain competitiveness in emerging technologies will be essential to protect U.S. national and economic security.
The Cipher Brief is committed to publishing a range of perspectives on national security issues submitted by deeply experienced national security professionals.
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