The Trump administration is doubling down on AI development and deployment, issuing an executive order to “put the most advanced, secure, and reliable AI systems into the hands of America’s warfighters and intelligence professionals while ensuring their responsible use.”
Emphasis on “responsible use.” This caveat is significant yet often ignored by Silicon Valley’s industry allies in government.
As a lifelong Republican and a firm believer in Ronald Reagan’s vision of peace through strength, there is absolutely nothing wrong with building AI systems that strengthen our national security and protect us from foreign adversaries — from China to Russia and Iran. I would much rather America lead the world in AI development than a communist regime in Beijing, an autocratic government in Moscow, or a radical Islamist one in Tehran.
On that front, failure is not an option. The world is a safer and better place with America in charge than the alternative.
But promoting AI innovation and building effective guardrails for “responsible use” (quoting Trump) are not mutually exclusive. Nor is criticizing Silicon Valley somehow ensuring American defeat in our decades-long geopolitical struggle against Chinese communism.
This is the same Silicon Valley that likens AI to a deity in hopes of rendering humanity obsolete. For years now, AI engineers have predicted a world with an AI that is “a billion times smarter than the smartest human.” Machine learning researchers are likening AI CEOs to “modern-day prophets” (OpenAI CEO Sam Altman doesn’t seem to mind). Meanwhile, venture capitalists in the technology space are praising Anthropic for “midwifing a deity” by “building a species that’s superior to humans.”
For religious Americans and other traditional conservatives, we should be on high alert. There is a reason Pope Leo’s first encyclical focused on AI: he warned people to stop building a “new Tower of Babel” and to prioritize safeguarding humanity.
Let’s be clear: There is a distinction between AI for civilian and military use. Reforming AI chatbots to stop recommending suicide to young Americans doesn’t make us vulnerable against China. Making AI companies answer for model hallucinations that spit out false, damaging information doesn’t make us “weak on Russia.” Supporting legislation that rejects AI personhood — the novel concept of technology somehow being entitled to human rights — isn’t going to lose military engagements. Nor is worrying about AI job loss.
U.S.-China competition is heating up, and artificial intelligence is a key front line. At stake is global technological leadership for years to come.
The Chinese government recently announced a $295 billion plan to fund a nationwide AI build-out of data centers, strengthening its domestic sector and perhaps even surpassing American innovation. The plan is to rely on local suppliers like Huawei for at least 80% of the technology, making Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices irrelevant as foreign exporters. If AI can make drone strikes more accurate and more adept at avoiding civilian casualties, I am all for it. If AI can protect our brave military service members from harm, I am obviously for that too.
But what does that have to do with preventing AI chatbots from ignoring human instructions? That is currently happening.
What about OpenAI trying to stifle nonprofit organizations that are critical of the company? That is happening too, and it certainly has nothing to do with national defense.
For America’s sake, it is encouraging that the world’s best AI researchers and engineers live and work in the United States. If these brilliant minds are cognizant of advanced AI’s risks and diligent in avoiding them, I trust our best and brightest to figure out how to mitigate the technology’s threats to our society.
Americans are demanding it. According to Fox News, nearly 80% of U.S. voters want the Trump administration to focus on AI safeguards. Meanwhile, almost 90% of Americans believe it is important for the U.S. to have the most powerful military in the world — supported by AI.
Why? Because we can walk and chew gum at the same time. When national security and AI safety are both winners, all Americans are winners too.
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Brendan Steinhauser is CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the implications of advanced AI.
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