Foreign Policy Priorities:
AI and Technology

The rapid ascent of artificial intelligence (AI) has led analysts to predict the beginning of a new era in geopolitics. Experts say the technology could add trillions of dollars to the global economy and expedite the discovery of treatments for deadly diseases. However, they also warn of steep downsides, including potentially empowering both state and nonstate actors to interfere in U.S. elections or even threatening the existence of humanity itself. 

The nascent AI industry remains largely unregulated, and companies, governments, and international institutions are all taking different approaches on governance. But amid what some observers describe as a burgeoning technological arms race with China, the United States has been resistant to proposed international regulations that it says would stifle AI innovation.

Meanwhile, the role of large technology firms, both U.S. and foreign, has increasingly come into question. Social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and X have faced harsh criticism for their roles in propagating disinformation and extremist content, while their efforts to crack down on offenders have raised free speech concerns. These tech giants and others, such as Google and Microsoft, are also under increasing scrutiny for their extraordinary market power and potentially anticompetitive business practices. 

Additionally, policymakers are focused on countering online disinformation campaigns originating in countries such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. However, federal efforts to suppress misinformation have faced numerous legal challenges over censorship. Washington also spends far less on countering disinformation than Beijing or Moscow invests in spreading it. The State Department office tasked with combating disinformation campaigns has an annual budget of just $61 million, while China is estimated to spend $7 billion and Russia $2 billion on overseas influence campaigns. (The U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent U.S. government agency which lists “information manipulation and media suppression tactics” among its top concerns and funds outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has a budget of $944 million.)

There is also growing concern over the national security risks posed by TikTok and other foreign technology companies, which experts say could put sensitive communications infrastructure under the influence of adversaries. Noting these concerns, President Donald Trump sought to limit the reach of Chinese technology firms such as Huawei in the United States. President Joe Biden has further expanded restrictions, seeking to suppress Beijing’s access to advanced semiconductors and other critical technologies.