China and Russia are snapping at the heels of U.S. leadership in AI.

An opinion piece in the Business Insider by Tony Samp argues in favor of a significant stimulus injection into the American AI sector. The stimulus would help in the post-COVID recovery and also deliver strategic advantages in the future. Tony Samp is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center For A New American Security. He is also a government affairs policy adviser at the law firm DLA Piper. (BUSINESS INSIDER)

Stimulus for AI

The U.S. government and Congress have rightly thrown a $2 trillion lifeline to rescue the economy from the recessionary impact of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. An additional stimulus is already under consideration.

These measures will perhaps go a long way towards restoring economic stability. However, Samp points to AI’s many contributions in the fight against COVID-19. These include rapid diagnosis, the search for treatments for the disease, and management of crisis-ridden supply chains.

Samp says a stimulus for American AI will be money well-spent. This is because AI can play a key role when the economy, particularly the consumer sector, reopens.

“With this in mind, and since consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of US GDP, strong government action will be needed to re-energize the economy through targeted investments in key industries of the future like AI,” writes Samp. “Digital engineers in academia and industry are eager to tackle the predominant questions about AI and can create economic growth opportunities in the process if they have focused resources.”

Other, strategic reasons for shoring up AI

Samp points to AI’s revolutionary potential, the alarming decline in US R&D spending, and China’s (even Russia) world-beating AI ambitions.

He also observes that some legislative initiatives have already commenced, such as H.R. 6216, “The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act,” aiming to provide $6.5 billion over the next five years for R&D in AI.

Senate AI Caucus co-chairs Sens. Martin Heinrich and Rob Portman introduced a similar bill last year.

Samp recommends not to “let a crisis go to waste,” and a bipartisan approach to funding AI.

“For economic and national security imperatives, now is the time for congressional leaders to consider major AI investment as a stimulus tool that will help bolster our economy and put our country in a position of strength for years to come.”

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