Donald Trump has the distinction of being the first U.S. President elected in the AI era. While he has rightly recognized the importance of AI with his decisions to appoint a White House AI & Crypto Czar and jumpstart infrastructure investment through the Stargate venture, his administration faces novel threats to U.S. AI dominance. As Trump settles into office, we’re seeing accelerating competition from new AI models like DeepSeek and increasing security threats as businesses and critical infrastructure systems integrate AI.
Despite security dangers, it is no exaggeration to say that AI has the potential to be humanity’s greatest creation, offering the means to go beyond the bounds of human capability and unlock discoveries that have been out of reach. Whether the U.S. will lead the world in these advancements will be determined within the next four years.
As the leader of the world’s largest economy, Trump will have the ability to influence and guide all of AI’s potential into a practical reality. He must focus on two forms of AI security to realize this, addressing both the security threats AI poses and the need to secure America’s dominance in the AI domain.
President and Chief Technology Officer at CalypsoAI
Securing AI-driven systems
Sustainable AI innovation cannot occur without balanced protections for its users. Removing barriers to entry to AI is achievable once the burden of safe usage is on the companies creating and implementing AI, not on its everyday users. Organizations should be allowed to freely distribute AI applications and systems, but only when they also make the associated testing and security reports freely available.
Consider the parallels with access to automobiles: they contain very advanced technology but everyone can see their safety rating and crash-test results before they get behind the wheel. Accessible safety ratings will similarly speed the safe democratization of AI.
In practical terms, smartphone operating systems are the real edge devices for AI, where most people will access the technology on an hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute basis. Putting the correct legal safeguards in place for how the owners of these operating systems implement AI will have the most dramatic and immediate impact on AI safety and security.
Meanwhile, the rise of AI agents represents a new vulnerability for U.S. businesses and national infrastructure, as agents can gain access to sensitive information and run mission-critical tasks such as building and resource control systems. It is all but certain that, in tandem with their push to innovate their own AI models, countries like China are making significant efforts to hack those of their adversaries. Indeed, there is already evidence of China-based threat actors attempting to exfiltrate information from OpenAI.
With the advent of advanced autonomous agents, the cutting edge will be agentic warfare, in which these agents will be tasked with finding ways to hack corporate or national defenses. To win on AI, our security must be as good – or better – than our enemies’ hacking innovations.
Building AI infrastructure
Securing physical infrastructure and the resources required for innovation is also essential to copper-fasten America’s position as the global leader in AI. We can have the smartest companies in the world but we can’t win the AI arms race if we don’t have the computing and physical infrastructure to stay ahead. DeepSeek has upped the stakes for model cost and performance but the bigger picture is about infrastructure and implementation.
That means reinvigorating our chip manufacturers, investing in high-performance computing, and making long-term investments in energy infrastructure. Smart trade deals with new and existing partners will ensure America’s access to the GPUs and technologies that underpin AI advances.
Running AI systems requires huge amounts of power: the IEA estimates the electricity use of data centers, AI, and crypto could more than double to over 1,000 terawatt-hours in 2026 – roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of Japan. U.S. energy supply and grid infrastructure must be up to the task. Expanding wind, solar, and tidal energy can both power the AI revolution and create new jobs – a win-win for America.
Securing U.S. AI dominance
We must also plan for long-term AI innovation. America once led the world in technological research, spearheaded by our 17 National Laboratories that sprung from federal investment during World War II. The time is right to revitalize those labs, giving them access to abundant AI technology and funding to staff up and explore this new frontier. The new partnership between the National Labs and OpenAI is a step in the right direction.
The Trump administration must empower our labs, designating them as places where things can be created, not just homes for long-form research. Instead of spurring job losses, AI can make jobs safer, more skilled, and higher-value – all good things for our economy. Finding new opportunities for job-specific efficiency is one area where our National Labs can act as hothouses for AI innovation.
Of course, AI can be a powerful tool for government efficiency, with its ability to pull vast amounts of data from various sources and identify patterns and opportunities for improvements. All this data must be handled delicately, with an extreme emphasis on safety and the security of personally identifiable information. Consider the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has sensitive personal and health information on our 18 million veterans and their families. A data breach there would upset and alienate people and set back AI progress.
Establishing an AI task force
It is clear that the scale of the AI opportunity requires an unprecedented approach that balances appropriate safeguards with speed of action. This can be achieved by establishing a Department of AI Acceleration, which will allow the U.S. to rip through red tape, apply funding appropriately, and propel American-built AI. Sticking with President Trump’s knack for naming things, perhaps ‘AI Force’ is appropriate?
No matter its title, a dedicated agency that allocates funding to those developing AI in responsible ways will achieve better results than time-consuming regulation and legislation. If we want the US to accelerate and dominate in the AI space, let’s assemble the greatest minds in a single place, with the sole purpose of ensuring safe AI that benefits everyone.
Quickly establishing this landmark new department, backed by targeted investment in research and infrastructure and an agreed approach to AI security, will make America the global authority on safe AI – not just leading the way but lighting a path forward for the rest of the world. The opportunity is ours for the taking.
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