Letter from Alexandr Wang to President Trump on Winning the AI War

Below is a letter outlining five steps that the new Administration should take to drive the United States toward victory. This letter will be shared with the President and Congressional and tech leaders. 

Mr. President,

Congratulations on your historic inauguration as the 47th President of the United States. As you know, this is a critical time for the United States as our global leadership on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at risk. We are in a new kind of technological arms race. The Chinese government is investing in AI at an unprecedented pace. In 2023, Chinese AI models were more than a year behind, but this is no longer the case. In the past month alone we have seen very powerful advances in China’s AI capabilities relative to our government. If the United States remains on our current trajectory, we risk falling and staying behind.

In your first Administration, the actions you took enabled the growth of American AI companies and set the stage for the mainstream AI boom we are seeing now. Scale AI has powered nearly every AI advancement over that period with leading AI labs and enterprises. We’ve also brought that same expertise to support the Department of Defense and other national security stakeholders to protect American interests, and to ensure the United States continues to lead on critical new AI innovation. Scale’s foundational role in the AI ecosystem gives us unique insights into how any government or enterprise can adopt AI efficiently and effectively. 

If the United States wants to win the AI war, here are five steps your administration can take, beginning in your first 100 days, to drive the United States toward victory:

1. Allocate America’s AI investments in the right places. China’s government outspends our government by about 10 times on AI implementation and adoption. AI progress relies on three pillars: compute, algorithms, and data. The leading global tech companies have long recognized this by investing approximately 60% on compute, 30% on data, and 10% on algorithms. This formula is why American commercial AI systems are the best in the world and why China benchmarks its government spending against us. In contrast, our government spends roughly 90% of investments on algorithms, neglecting the other two pillars. So not only are we spending less, we’re not investing well. To win, our government must adapt by changing our investment strategy to more closely reflect industry. Then we must not only match, but exceed China’s aggressive funding for AI focused on fielding and implementing AI solutions.
2. Build the workforce of the future in America. Estimates suggest that AI will create up to 50 million new jobs and provide up to $15.7 trillion of global economic output by 2030. To capture as much of this economic potential as possible and create jobs within our borders, the Administration should establish an interagency task force charged with immediately reviewing all relevant regulations to ensure that the AI workforce of the future can flourish in the United States.
3. Make all federal agencies AI-ready: There is incredible evidence about how AI can improve government efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery. Unfortunately, one major barrier to realizing these gains is that government data is not optimized to support AI. While the United States’ government is the largest producer of data in the world, its benefits to defense, economic growth, health care and operational efficiency have not been realized. To address this, executive action on AI should require our agencies to become fully AI-ready by 2027.
4. Unleash American energy to support the AI boom. The energy demands needed to support the AI boom are substantial. To unlock the potential for economic growth, enhance national security, and increase productivity from AI systems, our government must have energy policies in place to ensure sufficient energy. In the first 100 days, the newly created National Energy Council should launch an aggressive energy plan to produce the lowest-cost energy and electricity globally.
5. Ensure safety without stifling innovation. Attracting the best tech companies to flourish in America relies on the right regulatory framework. For AI, this is achieved through a sector-specific, use-case-based approach and by testing frontier AI models and system to address unforeseen risks. To ensure that this approach is in place, the White House should direct agency heads to perform a gap analysis of where existing AI regulations apply and where they may require new ones. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology should be tasked with developing standards and frameworks to test and evaluate AI systems. Together, these actions can create a regulatory framework that maintains safety without undermining long-term growth or national security.

There is much work to be done, and you have the right team in place to take on this challenge and ensure we maintain our lead against adversaries. Scale stands ready to be a partner to you and the Administration so that America wins the AI war.

Sincerely,

Alexandr Wang
Founder and CEO
Scale AI

Download the official documentation:  AWang_DJT_letter_jan21.pdf