The Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) welcomes the opportunity to provide input on priority policy actions for the Trump administration’s new AI Action Plan. CNAS is an independent, bipartisan organization dedicated to developing bold, pragmatic, and principled national security solutions. CNAS has several research initiatives focused on critical and emerging technologies, including a center wide, multi-year initiative addressing the national security risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI). This response includes input from the following authors:¹

• Vivek Chilukuri, Senior Fellow and Director, Technology and National Security Program
• Michael Depp, Research Associate, AI Safety and Stability Project
• Bill Drexel, Fellow, Technology and National Security Program
• Janet Egan, Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program
• Paul Scharre, Executive Vice President
• Josh Wallin, Fellow, Defense Program
• Becca Wasser, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Defense Program
• Caleb Withers, Research Associate, Technology and National Security Program

Introduction

Strengthening and securing America’s AI dominance is crucial for U.S. national security and economic competitiveness. The authors commend the government for taking steps to define concrete policy actions to achieve this goal. While the United States currently leads the world in AI, we cannot take this position for granted. China is working aggressively to close the gap, and jurisdictions like the European Union also seek to shape global AI standards. The United States cannot cede international leadership to competitors like China that ride roughshod over human rights. It also cannot allow historic partners, such as the European Union, to shape international rules of the road with well-intentioned but overly burdensome regulatory frameworks that stifle innovation and limit technological advancement. The United States has an opportunity to chart a new path: one that cuts through regulatory burdens to unleash and promote U.S. AI innovation, while ensuring new capabilities support and not undermine U.S. national security. The federal government can do more to reduce regulatory barriers to domestic AI development and diffusion, while pursuing targeted interventions to effectively harness AI for defense and manage potential risks to national security. A promote and protect approach to American AI dominance will enable the United States to capitalize on its technological advantages and promote a global technology ecosystem underpinned by democratic values such as free speech, transparency, and respect for civil liberties. In this submission, the authors outline concrete policy actions for the Trump administration to secure and strengthen America’s AI dominance across five themes: Promote America’s AI Advantage, Protect America’s AI Edge, Monitor and Shape Frontier AI Development, Secure American AI-Bio Leadership, and Accelerate AI Adoption in the Military. These recommendations draw on analysis from a recent CNAS whitepaper The First 100 Days, which outlines actions the Trump administration can take to Promote and Protect America’s AI Advantage, as well as several CNAS reports on military AI development, biosecurity, and the U.S.-China technology competition.

Summary of Recommendations

Promote America’s AI Advantage

• Fast-track the development of secure AI infrastructure to unleash America’s computing power advantage.
• Attract top AI talent from around the world.
• Develop a comprehensive strategy for promoting U.S. AI globally.
• Develop a system to rapidly remove censorship from Chinese open source AI through government efforts or private sector partnerships.
• Establish a President’s Council on Artificial Intelligence, modeled after the President’s Council on Bioethics.

Protect America’s AI Edge

• Improve export controls to better restrict adversaries from accessing leading AI chips.
• Work with the private sector to uplift security requirements for AI labs and datacenters to prevent adversaries from stealing or interfering with U.S. advanced AI technology.
• Continue to assess the risks of open weight models and ensure the government has the capability to protect highly sensitive capabilities, if they do materialize.

Monitor and Shape Frontier AI Development

• Strengthen the government’s capacity to understand and engage with emerging AI opportunities and risks.
• Leverage the federal government’s AI expertise to implement an agile, pro-innovation approach to AI risk management.
• Promote foundational research to improve the robustness and reliability of cutting-edge AI models.
• Prioritize regular engagement with China on AI security concerns through the U.S.-China AI Working Group.

Secure American AI-Bio Leadership

• Enhance screening protocols for cloud laboratories and gene synthesis providers.
• Revise biodefense investments to emphasize adaptability and speed.
• Issue a political declaration addressing responsible AI applications in biotechnology.
• Prioritize research into promising technical safety mechanisms to counter the risks of advanced AI systems enhancing non-state actors' bioweapon development capabilities.

Accelerate AI Adoption in the Military

• Enhance and accelerate DoD adoption of military AI.

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