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Ambitious, Achievable, and Sustainable: A Blueprint for Reclaiming American Research Leadership
Summary
The next Administration should accelerate federal basic and applied research investments over a period of five years to return funding to its historical average as a share of GDP. While this ambitious yet achievable strategy should encompass the entire research portfolio, it should particularly seek to reverse the long-term erosion of collective investments in physical and computer science, mathematics, and engineering to lay the foundation for economic competitiveness deep into the 21st century. This proposal outlines a strategy and series of steps for the federal government to take to reinvigorate U.S. competitiveness by restoring research and development investments.
Congress should foster a more responsive and evidence-based ecosystem for GenAI-powered educational tools, ensuring that they are equitable, effective, and safe for all students.
Without independent research, we do not know if the AI systems that are being deployed today are safe or if they pose widespread risks that have yet to be discovered, including risks to U.S. national security.
Companies that store children’s voice recordings and use them for profit-driven applications without parental consent pose serious privacy threats to children and families.
Privacy laws are only effective if they include civil rights protections that ensure personal data is processed safely and fairly regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, or other protected characteristics.