How America can respond to China's AI plan

China released a new five-year plan to advance artificial intelligence, and an opinion piece urges Congress to adopt a national AI framework focused on literacy, child safety, worker training, infrastructure, and safety standards.

China has announced a new five-year national plan aimed at advancing its capabilities in artificial intelligence. The opinion piece argues this development highlights the need for a coherent U.S. approach rather than a fragmented response. The authors say decisions made now will shape economic growth, national security, and global influence for years to come. They present a set of priorities they say Congress should consider when shaping a national framework. Key points: - China released a five-year national plan to expand its AI capabilities and coordination. - The article argues the United States lacks a unified national AI framework and that Congress should pass one. - It lists five priorities: AI literacy, child safety protections, a national training and certification program, large-scale computing infrastructure, and baseline safety standards for frontier AI models. - The piece also calls for federal preemption to prevent a patchwork of conflicting state laws while preserving state consumer protections. Summary: The authors present a case that a national AI framework would influence economic opportunity, workforce preparedness, and U.S. leadership in technology. They urge Congress to pass such a framework; the timeline for legislative action is undetermined at this time.