Artificial Intelligence Is America’s Modern-Day Moonshot | Opinion

In 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the globe and stoked deep fears in the United States by launching the first artificial satellite into space. This pivotal moment led to former President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 call to “go to the moon,” transforming the space race into a shared national mission to accelerate innovation, strengthen our technical workforce, and knock down other barriers to lasting American leadership. Sixty-two years later, America faces another foreign adversary—China—intent on leapfrogging America in a critical technology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is America’s modern-day moonshot—a chance to redefine the century and ensure that our country continues to lead the world, not just in technology, but in crafting a future where innovation is built on the values of openness to serve all of humanity. If America acts boldly now to unlock the potential of AI—including making investments in our critical infrastructure, bolstering cyber capabilities to strengthen and protect our energy grid, and dismantling other barriers to AI’s promise—the rewards will reshape our society in positive, profound ways for decades to come, with more benefits than the space race.

AI’s capabilities are transformational. It is accelerating medical advancements, making life-saving treatments faster and more accessible, helping small businesses better grow and thrive, and achieving major breakthroughs in scientific research. AI has made critical discoveries in nuclear fusion technology, helping overcome key barriers to grid-scale adoption of this near-limitless source of clean energy. Such advancements could bolster our energy infrastructure, provide substantial mitigation against climate change, and allow America to reap hundreds of billions in economic value from this game-changing technology.

Formidable hurdles stand in the way of America’s AI leadership. Foreign adversaries with contrasting values are aggressively pursuing AI dominance. China is investing $1.4 trillion to achieve global tech leadership, specifically with a goal of being the world AI leader by 2030. In addition to exporting their surveillance technologies widely, both China and Russia are trying to weaken our nation’s critical systems by hacking and stealing hundreds of key technologies and compromising our energy grid and other essential infrastructure.

­Domestically, achieving AI’s promise requires us to strengthen and protect critical infrastructure, including our energy grid, develop and train a robust American workforce to support our AI ecosystem, all while overcoming other barriers to AI growth. Policymakers, working with industry, must solve these issues now to ensure America’s long-term strategic strength, competitiveness, and national security.

As with the space race of the 1960s, today’s policymakers must view these challenges not as roadblocks, but as catalysts for greater innovation and commitment. This is the essence of the American spirit, one that has seen us through the trials of World War II, spurred the interstate highway system, propelled us to the moon, and brought about the digital age.

Achieving American AI leadership will require a tight, trusted partnership between government and industry, one that rises above partisan fights and has a continuity across administrations. We cannot be paralyzed or derailed by fear of the unknown. Instead, we must be willing to take bold collective action at the federal and state levels, focused on embracing policies that accelerate innovation, not handcuff it. Every stakeholder, including every American, must fully understand how big the stakes of the AI race are, urgency of acting now to overcome obstacles, and the importance of playing to win the long game. Most importantly, we must remember America’s long history of successfully converting our greatest challenges into our finest hours.

President Kennedy knew the many difficulties of going to the moon and back within a decade, but exhorted the public, “That goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” Today, the global tech leader will be decided within the next decade. America must again accept that challenge—and play to win—because this is our generation’s moonshot moment.

Doug Kelly is CEO of American Edge Project.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.