Surging energy demand and increasingly frequent extreme weather events are bringing new challenges to the forefront of electric grid planning, permitting, operations, and resilience.
Many of the projects that would deliver the energy to meet rising demand are in the interconnection queue, waiting to be built. AI can improve both the speed and the cost of connecting new projects to the grid.
The decline of the coal industry in the late 20th century led to the dismantling of the economic engine of American coal communities. The AI boom of the 21st century can reinvigorate these areas if harnessed appropriately.
At this inflection point, the choice is not between speed and safety but between ungoverned acceleration and a calculated momentum that allows our strategic AI advantage to be both sustained and secured.
Improved detection could strengthen deterrence, but only if accompanying hazards—automation bias, model hallucinations, exploitable software vulnerabilities, and the risk of eroding assured second‑strike capability—are well managed.
A dedicated and properly resourced national entity is essential for supporting the development of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI to drive widespread adoption, by providing sustained, independent technical assessments and emergency coordination.
Congress should establish a new grant program, coordinated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to assist state and local governments in addressing AI challenges.
If AI systems are not always reliable and secure, this could inhibit their adoption, especially in high-stakes scenarios, potentially compromising American AI leadership.
To secure global adoption of U.S. AI technology and ensure America’s workforce can fully leverage advanced AI, the federal government should take a strategic and coordinated approach to support AI assurance and security R&D.
There is no better time to re-invigorate America’s innovation edge by investing in R&D to create and capture “industries of the future,” re-shoring capital and expertise, and working closely with allies to expand our capabilities while safeguarding those technologies that are critical to our security.
By providing essential funding mechanisms, the Bioeconomy Finance Program will reduce the risks inherent in biotechnology innovation, encouraging more private sector investment.
The U.S. should create a new non-governmental Innovation Accelerator modeled after the successful In-Q-Tel program to invest in small and mid-cap companies creating technologies that address critical needs of the United States.