For U.S. to beat China in AI race, Republicans must lead. First step: More energy | Opinion

When Alan Turing first coined the term “artificial intelligence,” or AI, in his 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence,” the first full-scale nuclear generating station was years away from breaking ground, deregulated power markets were still decades down the road, and the People’s Republic of China was in its infancy.

AI, energy shocks and U.S.-China tensions are not new phenomena. But they have catapulted to center stage as Americans increasingly question their leaders’ ability to properly address these intertwined challenges. The coming months present a golden opportunity for Republicans to leverage their electoral mandate to bolster our energy security and fuel the jobs of the future.

Maintaining our position as a world leader in AI development and deployment — from discovering new medical breakthroughs to modeling and mitigating natural disasters — requires an abundant and secure supply of energy. Power utilities across the country have revised up expectations of future electricity demand and ensuing capital outlays needed to modernize our grid and keep pace with our competitors. Some estimates project capital investment requirements exceeding several trillion dollars.

The entire U.S. economy is facing a rapid surge in electricity demand, driven by a confluence of factors, including the revival of American manufacturing, the electrification of transport, heat and industry, and the growth of the digital economy. This load growth is occurring against a backdrop of transmission assets that are fast approaching the end of their useful lives. Updating the “world’s largest machine” will require a collaborative approach and a bold vision.

Republican leaders can position themselves as facilitators of this new wave of private investment and paint a stark contrast with the hulking, taxpayer-funded infrastructure packages championed by Democrats during the last Congress, which went unrewarded by voters in the recent election. They can reduce the zealous overregulation of AI that we have seen on the federal and state level, which stifles innovation and adds a huge burden of costs to businesses and taxpayers.

If AI is to propel us into the future, the U.S. must establish a comprehensive strategy — with buy-in from government, tech firms, utilities, investors, local communities and the industries that AI is transforming — to marshal the resources we need to fuel this technological revolution. If we fail to meet the moment, we risk losing our leadership on AI and enabling other countries, including our adversaries, to surpass us.

China is determined to edge out the U.S. in the AI race. The Chinese State Council unveiled its “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” in 2017, with the aim of making China the global leader in AI by 2030. A recent observation from national security experts reveals that China has outpaced the U.S. in AI and machine learning patents every year since 2021, with more than double the US patents granted in 2023 alone. This should be an alarming wake-up call for American business and political leaders.

China, through its central planning, authoritarian diktats, and state-owned enterprises, can mobilize vast government and industry resources to achieve the state’s technological aims. The U.S. needs to exploit the Chinese Communist Party’s innate weaknesses by exercising free thought, reduced bureaucracy, and healthy collaboration between government and business.

Take electricity transmission. The lead time to construct new power lines and generators needed to power data centers can be as long as eight years in the U.S. Add to that the years of headaches stemming from interconnection agreements with grid operators and local zoning and land permits. Is this really how we beat China in the AI race? Instead, we should be streamlining unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic roadblocks, enacting expedited permitting for “data opportunity zones,” and unleashing an all-of-the-above approach to energy development while domestically exploring for rare earth minerals that we currently import from China.

Only by harnessing a broad array of energy solutions can we ensure a reliable and sufficient power supply for our AI-driven future. Republicans should take advantage of this national imperative and lead the nation and the economy forward to a secure energy future.