U.S. Needs AI Leadership to Keep Global Tech Edge

Published Date : 19/09/2025 

The U.S. is at a critical juncture in the development and advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). American companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are competing for dominance in the global AI landscape, but the challenge from China is significant. Congress must act to ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of this technological revolution. 

The Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation recently held a hearing titled “Shaping Tomorrow: The Future of Artificial Intelligence.” The hearing aimed to assess the current state of AI and its growing impact on the U.S. economy. Members heard from witnesses on how American companies are shaping the AI landscape and explored predictions about future developments in AI and their implications for the economy and workforce.

Key takeaways from the hearing include the revolutionary impact of AI across various industries, the rapid advancements in AI capabilities, and the need for the U.S. to maintain global dominance in this technology race.

From healthcare to transportation to agriculture, AI is transforming industries to improve outcomes and efficiency. Kinsey Fabrizio, President of the Consumer Technology Association, testified, “We see AI and digital twins that can simulate everything from factories to city planning. Agentic AI, which are autonomous systems that can manage everyday tasks. Vertical AI models, which are specialized in areas like healthcare and mobility or agriculture. Industrial AI, which is augmenting the workforce and improving safety. And physical AI, which includes more lifelike and useful robots.”

American companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are leading the race with increasingly sophisticated frontier language models. Samuel Hammond, Chief Economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, highlighted the rapid progress in AI autonomy. He stated, “The AI Research Organization Meter has found that the length of tasks that agents can perform doubles roughly every four to seven months, a trend that has held for the past six years. If this trend continues, we are only two doublings away, roughly eight to 14 months, from AI agents that can autonomously perform tasks that take humans a full eight-hour workday.”

Congress must examine the current state of AI and explore predictions about future developments to maintain global dominance in the technology race. Ms. Fabrizio emphasized, “American companies are leading the AI race, but their success is not guaranteed. In China, the government has made AI central to its national strategy and invested heavily in areas like semiconductors, robots, and data centers. To counter this strategy, we need policies that help American companies out-innovate the competition. If America falters in AI, we risk ceding entire industries, supply chains, and influence over global standards.”

Mr. Hammond added, “Even within the bounds of existing infrastructure, and is coming sooner than many realize, it’s worth emphasizing that creating artificial general intelligence (AGI) and superintelligent AI capable of outperforming humans in every domain is the explicit goal of every leading U.S. AI company. While some dismiss this as science fiction or marketing hype, the leaders of these companies are deadly serious. As for timing, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark testified recently that he expects transformative AI to arrive as soon as the end of 2026 or early 2027. Even if these forecasts are on trend, AI capabilities will remain uneven for at least several more years. For a brief, paradoxical moment, we will have superintelligent AIs that can prove new math theorems but still struggle to do many things that humans find trivial.”

Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) inquired about the balance between states’ rights and a ten-year moratorium on AI, as well as competition with China in the race to develop AI. She asked, “Why is it so important to balance states’ rights while not stifling innovation, especially when countries like China, Russia, and Iran don’t have any guardrails?”

Ms. Fabrizio responded, “China doesn’t have that. It’s impossible for our member companies. Like I said, we have 80 percent small businesses, and they cannot compete and understand when there are a thousand different potential laws that they have to comply with. It just stifles innovation completely. And for us to win the AI race, we need to remove that barrier.”

Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) inquired about AI’s potential role in updating the U.S. energy grid to compete with China. He noted, “China is building thousands of solar farms and coal plants to power their AI. We should be investing in fossil fuels and nuclear. Small modular nuclear reactors can power the same job nationally with just 500 acres, not 500,000 acres of solar panels.”

Ms. Fabrizio and Mr. Hammond discussed how AI can help solve the energy problem. Ms. Fabrizio said, “We’re a year or two away from having fully autonomous AI labs that could discover new materials, new energy sources, all the above.”

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) inquired about Americans’ discernment of inflammatory speech misinformation spread by Chinese and Russian AI, balancing the expanded use of AI with preparing young Americans for the workforce, and recommendations for what Congress can do to monitor and regulate AI. Mr. Hammond noted, “It is a really big open challenge. These social media platforms have their work cut out for them. We do not yet have a reliable way to distinguish between human and AI-generated content, but AI can also help in developing better detection methods.”

The U.S. must focus on the responsible growth of AI to remain dominant in the global technology race. This includes investing in research, developing robust policies, and ensuring that American companies can continue to innovate and lead in the AI landscape. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What industries are being transformed by AI?

A: AI is transforming various industries including healthcare, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing. It is improving outcomes and efficiency through digital twins, agentic AI, vertical AI models, industrial AI, and physical AI.

Q: Which American companies are leading in AI development?

A: American companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are leading in AI development with increasingly sophisticated frontier language models and AI systems.

Q: What is the current state of AI capabilities?

A: AI capabilities are rapidly advancing, with the length of tasks that AI agents can perform doubling every four to seven months. Some experts predict that within the next few years, AI agents could perform tasks that take humans a full eight-hour workday.

Q: How is China competing in the AI race?

A: China has made AI a central part of its national strategy and has invested heavily in semiconductors, robots, and data centers. They are also building thousands of solar farms and coal plants to power their AI systems.

Q: What role can AI play in solving the energy problem?

A: AI can help in developing new materials and energy sources, optimizing energy usage, and creating more efficient energy grids. Fully autonomous AI labs are expected to be developed within the next few years to discover new solutions. 

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