The race for artificial intelligence is not an academic contest — it is the new front line in the struggle for national survival and global influence. If a foreign authoritarian state seizes dominant control of foundational AI technologies, they will not only command economic advantage but also the tools to reshape information, surveillance, and military capability in ways that could permanently tilt the balance of power. Americans who cherish liberty should treat this as a strategic emergency, not a fashionable debate about ethics and buzzwords.
Silicon Valley giants and chip makers are caught between profit, patriotism, and geopolitics, and the stakes are visible in recent negotiations over access to the most powerful processors. Nvidia’s leaders have warned that U.S. export curbs have backfired by accelerating Chinese self-reliance, even as the White House debates precisely how to control sales of cutting-edge systems like Blackwell and H200. President Trump has publicly signaled willingness to permit downgraded sales under tight conditions, a messy but pragmatic recognition that half-measures and uncertainty weaken American leverage.
Meanwhile, Beijing is racing to harden its supply chains and expand domestic capacity with aggressive industrial policy that should alarm every free-market patriot. New rules push domestic sourcing for chip equipment and state-directed financing has poured into local champions, while Chinese firms are reportedly placing massive orders for advanced AI chips to catch up fast. This is not a benign commercial rivalry — it is a centrally planned sprint designed to close the gap on our terms and lock in advantages on theirs.
Conservatives must be unapologetically pro-American in this moment: we need bold industrial policy that actually works, not a bureaucratic tangle that benefits foreign competitors and domestic consultants. Incentives like the CHIPS-era investments and public-private projects must be paired with real regulatory certainty, tax fairness, and targeted export controls that protect critical capabilities while keeping U.S. firms competitive. We also need to bind allies into a clear tech-security coalition so friendly democracies share standards, suppliers, and trusted supply chains rather than ceding whole sectors to Beijing.
Talent is the long game. The U.S. must overhaul workforce training, expand STEM education, and make it easier for entrepreneurs and skilled immigrants to build companies here — not ship our brightest minds overseas with red tape and hostile visa limits. American greatness has always come from attracting the best and fostering a culture of risk-taking and innovation; if we forget that, no amount of subsidies will save us. The right answer is to level the playing field for workers and founders, not to nationalize research or drown startups in regulation.
We must never soft-pedal the national security danger an AI-dominant rival poses: authoritarian regimes will weaponize surveillance, information control, and cyberoffense if they can pair them with advanced AI. Democracies are structurally different — we prize privacy and private ownership — which means we must invest in defensive AI to protect critical infrastructure, electoral integrity, and civilian life without trampling civil liberties. That balance requires serious, sober investment in resilient systems and clear rules of engagement, not moralizing gestures or a rush to appeasement.
Finally, conservatives should demand clarity from Washington: a consistent, transparent export and industrial strategy that forces China to compete on fair terms and punishes theft, forced technology transfer, and malign state subsidies. We can be pro-business and pro-security at the same time — rooting for American firms to win because they operate under the rule of law and because victory secures liberty for future generations. The alternative is to drift into dependency while technocrats and wokeness distract us from what truly matters: preserving a free, prosperous American republic that leads the world in innovation and freedom.
