Closing Critical Gaps from Lab to Market
Summary
Closing critical gaps across the interconnected ecosystem that supports discoveries in science and technology (S&T), developing discoveries into promising inventions, and commercializing inventions into thriving businesses should be of top priority for federal policymakers. In brief, intentional focus and dedicating resources to discovery and commercialization of inventions ensures that the United States maintains and expands its economic vitality, its global leadership in S&T innovation, and its strategic entrepreneurial advantages. This proposal presents a rationale and vision for the launch and deployment of a national plan—called Innovate the Future: The American Inventors Initiative—to provide comprehensive support and acceleration paths for postdoctoral researchers, early-stage entrepreneurs, and S&T investors, in order to advance domestic economic growth.
AI’s high-stakes outputs directly shape American economic, industrial, and technological outcomes. They must not be accepted entirely on the basis of institutional faith rather than verifiable evidence.
The clearinghouse will also neutrally mediate the assignment of auditors to audits—strengthening independence, trust, and ethical governance across the AI ecosystem.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
Jobseekers, employees at smaller organizations, and local public workers need more than a weekend crash course in AI. They need practice choosing useful tasks, protecting data, testing outputs, and explaining where human judgment remains necessary.