An Open Letter to The White House: How We Win the New AI Cold War

In this release Ben Van Roo, founder and CEO of Yurts, shares his views on the current state of the AI landscape

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The current AI race between the U.S. and China is often viewed through the lens of the Manhattan Project's initiative to build the atomic bomb—a nonstop sprint to the finish line before the enemy gets there.

That's the wrong perspective. Unlike developing the bomb, getting there first doesn't signal victory. And the race is really close. DeepSeek has already proven that Chinese technology is months, not years, behind the U.S. The central strategy to withhold technology from China via export controls isn't working.

A better framework to understand the challenge ahead is the Cold War – a lengthy, strategic chess match that played out over decades. Winning is achieved through harnessing our national strengths in innovation to reimagine our workforce, institutions, and defense infrastructure for a new era.

The White House is correct in calling for the Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. The administration's strategy must harness AI as a catalyst for positive economic transformation and integrate its benefits across our economy.

A new form of victory

As a nation, we focus on how to lead in AI innovation, adoption, and integration across all sectors of our economy and society. During the Cold War, the U.S. bolstered its commitment to freedom by developing the world's most vigorous, thriving businesses and technological advancements. Early government investment in Silicon Valley laid the groundwork for the breakthroughs that continue today. National defense was a public/private partnership that built strong institutions and secured our national interests.

Winning will not be about defeating a common enemy but building a new American future that improves economic and civic life. While a strong national defense was critical, it was only part of our victory in the last Cold War.

Winning means empowering the next generation of scientists and researchers who can create breakthroughs that are only possible through the deep research and scale that AI provides. Winning can bring about long-sought modernization and reformation of our institutions to make them more efficient and responsive. The White House must prioritize a bold yet principled approach to empowering those building the AI breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Containment won't win the war

Too much of our current AI strategy has been defensive. The DeepSeek story shows that relying on export controls is a fool's errand. An elaborate black market with underground distributor networks, shell companies, and clandestine shipping routes has allowed Chinese companies to move fast. China's domestic capacity at building new AI models, even if not at the highest levels of what those using the best Nvidia can offer, has given the nation near parity.

China's managed economy gives it the advantage of rapidly mobilizing industries to reach a common goal. Our Cold War strategy must account for a competitor with a different model of government and economic incentives who can only be slowed, not stopped.

Relying on export controls to achieve permanent superiority in AI development is wishful thinking. We must make a national commitment to building the infrastructure and systems that will create winners across our economy and institutions.

Adoption and integration must be our focus
The U.S. won the Cold War by out-innovating, outproducing, and outorganizing its adversaries. We must take the same approach with AI. First, we must rapidly reskill our workforce for an era when many jobs will look dramatically different in just a few years. Federal policy must prioritize fostering talent pipelines that ensure the next wave of applications and use cases starts here.

Building a national effort behind AI is also the right way to ensure safety is a priority. AI moves too quickly for organizations to decide in silos when there are risks to mitigate. We need national consensus on best principles without the rigidity that would stifle new development.

Building infrastructure for transformation
Another helpful way to think about AI is how electrification transformed American life in the late 1800s. Initially a niche innovation, powering a few industrial applications and the homes of the wealthy, electricity expanded through government incentives, private investment, and, most importantly–a national vision to improve everyone's life.

It took time for electricity to move from a select few to cities across America's rural lands. But as it took hold, it changed life for the better–powering new industries, improving productivity, and lifting communities into a modern era.

AI has the same potential. Adversarial nations are making the AI Cold War a national priority. We must do the same—not with a regressive approach, but instead with a market-driven and coordinated strategy that will foster a new generation of economic, social, and defense benefits for all.

SOURCE Yurts AI