Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang has written an open letter to President Trump, outlining five steps he believes are necessary for the US to win the AI war.

With AI taking the world by storm, countries are racing to gain and keep a technological lead in the field. The US and China have emerged as the two front-runners, with the longtime rivals trying to gain an edge over the other.

Wang’s letter, dated the day after Trump’s inauguration, emphasizes the “technological arms race” facing the US, as well as China’s rapid improvement.

As you know, this is a critical time for the United States as our global leadership on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at risk. We are in a new kind of technological arms race. The Chinese government is investing in AI at an unprecedented pace. In 2023, Chinese AI models were more than a year behind, but this is no longer the case. In the past month alone we have seen very powerful advances in China’s AI capabilities relative to our government. If the United States remains on our current trajectory, we risk falling and staying behind.

Wang goes on to say that some of Trump’s actions during his first administration helped lay the groundwork for the lead the US currently enjoys, but that several steps must be taken to maintain that lead. Wang says the following steps must be taken within the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, in order for the US to win the AI war.

1. Allocate America’s AI investments in the right places. China’s government outspends our government by about 10 times on AI implementation and adoption. AI progress relies on three pillars: compute, algorithms, and data. The leading global tech companies have long recognized this by investing approximately 60% on compute, 30% on data, and 10% on algorithms. This formula is why American commercial AI systems are the best in the world and why China benchmarks its government spending against us. In contrast, our government spends roughly 90% of investments on algorithms, neglecting the other two pillars. So not only are we spending less, we’re not investing well. To win, our government must adapt by changing our investment strategy to more closely reflect industry. Then we must not only match, but exceed China’s aggressive funding for AI focused on fielding and implementing AI solutions.
2. Build the workforce of the future in America. Estimates suggest that AI will create up to 50 million new jobs and provide up to $15.7 trillion of global economic output by 2030. To capture as much of this economic potential as possible and create jobs within our borders, the Administration should establish an interagency task force charged with immediately reviewing all relevant regulations to ensure that the AI workforce of the future can flourish in the United States.
3. Make all federal agencies AI-ready: There is incredible evidence about how AI can improve government efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery. Unfortunately, one major barrier to realizing these gains is that government data is not optimized to support AI. While the United States’ government is the largest producer of data in the world, its benefits to defense, economic growth, health care and operational efficiency have not been realized. To address this, executive action on AI should require our agencies to become fully AI-ready by 2027.
4. Unleash American energy to support the AI boom. The energy demands needed to support the AI boom are substantial. To unlock the potential for economic growth, enhance national security, and increase productivity from AI systems, our government must have energy policies in place to ensure sufficient energy. In the first 100 days, the newly created National Energy Council should launch an aggressive energy plan to produce the lowest-cost energy and electricity globally.
5. Ensure safety without stifling innovation. Attracting the best tech companies to flourish in America relies on the right regulatory framework. For AI, this is achieved through a sector-specific, use-case-based approach and by testing frontier AI models and system to address unforeseen risks. To ensure that this approach is in place, the White House should direct agency heads to perform a gap analysis of where existing AI regulations apply and where they may require new ones. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology should be tasked with developing standards and frameworks to test and evaluate AI systems. Together, these actions can create a regulatory framework that maintains safety without undermining long-term growth or national security.

Wang’s letter illustrates the highly politicized nature of technological developments, especially ones like AI, that have the potential to upend the status quo across multiple sectors, including the military.