Depending on foreign-made open models is both a supply chain risk and an innovation problem, experts say. Since 2022, America has had a solid lead in artificial intelligence thanks to advanced models from high-flying companies like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and xAI. A growing number of experts, however, worry that the US is starting to fall behind when it comes to minting open-weight AI models that can be downloaded, adapted, and run locally. Open models from Chinese companies like Kimi, Z.ai, Alibaba, and DeepSeek are now rapidly gaining popularity among researchers and engineers worldwide, leaving the US as a laggard in an increasingly vital area of AI innovation. "The US needs open models to cement its lead at every level of the AI stack," Nathan Lambert, founder of the ATOM (American Truly Open Models) Project, tells WIRED.

Our critical issue is that we are at odds with most of the technologically advanced world due to the trade wars that President Donald Trump has launched on friend and foe alike. But the Administration should recognize that the threat posed by China also includes robotics, and therefore put aside its trade differences with allies to try to form a joint effort. To win this war, the U.S. must first establish a comprehensive federal robotics strategy, similar to China's approach, to coordinate efforts across the public and private sectors. This includes creating a dedicated federal office to oversee robotics innovation and adoption. Next is the financial commitment to this battle.

The Biden administration this week introduced new export restrictions designed to control AI's progress globally and ultimately prevent the most advanced AI from falling into China's hands. The rule is just the latest in a string of measures put in place by Donald Trump and Joe Biden to keep Chinese AI in check. With prominent AI figures including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei warning of the need to "beat China" in AI, the Trump administration may well escalate things further. Paul Triolo is a partner at DGA Group, a global consulting firm, a member of the council of foreign relations, and a senior adviser to the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations. Alvin Graylin is an entrepreneur who previously ran China operations for the Taiwanese electronics firm HPC.

The Biden organization intends to use federal funding for U.S. research and development on artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies. The United States and India are logical partners in diagramming the future development of AI, which guarantees economic growth and social benefits to the two nations in key areas like healthcare, education, energy, financial technology and retail. India is an all-around nation and set to be a fundamental part of these endeavors, as the world's biggest democracy, a vital supporter for the developing world, and the home of a huge informational technology (IT) sector effectively collaborated with the United States. Recently, the Department of Science and Technology announced that the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum-IUSSTF has introduced the US India Artificial Intelligence Initiative. It will concentrate on AI implementation in the significant areas that are priorities for the two countries. India-US partnership in the field of Science and Technology is exceptionally an old collaboration.

On Wednesday, I hosted a discussion with former secretary of defense Ashton Carter, who is now the director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. The conversation was part of WIRED's CES programming, which tackled the biggest trends that will shape 2021, from medicine to autonomous driving to defense. We took questions from viewers in real time. The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity. Nicholas Thompson: You've had an incredible 35-year career in the US government and in the private sector, working for Republicans and Democrats, always trying to identify what the most important issue of our time is, the smartest solutions to it, and the fairest ways to think about it.

Key context: Schmidt has previously warned about the encroaching command of China in the AI sphere, particularly with its military buildup and "high tech authoritarianism." To counter the threat, Schmidt said Thursday that the U.S. should invest more in research, ethics and AI infrastructure and partner with countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel and Japan. He said broad consensus exists in the West on AI ethics, but those would probably contrast with standards developed in China. Having the United States and its partners lead the charge on ethical standards will be crucial in ensuring they reflect "human values," Schmidt said. "China is simply too big," he said.

In 2017, China announced its goal to become the world leader in AI by 2030. The United States responded by creating the commission to review America's competitive position and to advise Congress on what steps are needed to maintain U.S. leadership. Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and Work were chosen from among 15 appointed commissioners to lead the group. The focus of the commission is on AI for national security in both the public and private sectors. But AI-enhanced economic superiority is a national security concern, Work said.

In what is perhaps the tensest scene in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, the spaceship's onboard artificial intelligence system HAL-9000 reads the lips of hiding crew members. Discovering their plans to turn it off, the system turns against all humans onboard for the sake of protecting the mission. What was once science fiction is now inching closer to reality thanks to artificial intelligence--but in the wrong hands it could open up terrifying possibilities. In 2018, Chinese researchers crafted a new dataset and surveillance application benchmarks for lip-reading in real-world settings. Though this tech was meant to aid the hearing-impaired, the Chinese are likely to use it to broaden their already expansive surveillance state.