Running Faster

Boosting U.S. AI Innovation and Competitiveness

On September 13, CSET experts discussed ways the U.S. can promote innovation to maintain its competitive advantage in emerging technologies.

Policymakers, media and think tanks—including CSET—have paid much attention to the ongoing security and economic competition between the United States and China, with a particular emphasis on the role of emerging technologies such as AI and advances in biotechnology. Discussions on the topic have often focused on the best ways to slow down China’s progress in key technology areas, whether through export controls, investment restrictions, or other means. 

However, just as important as keeping China and other competitors from catching up is ensuring the United States continues to run faster. Last year’s CHIPS and Science Act represents the most prominent example of policymaker efforts to ensure continued U.S. competitive advantage. But what more can the United States do beyond subsidies and investments in R&D? And how do policymakers effectively promote U.S. leadership in key technologies while also placing appropriate safeguards on the very same tools? On September 13, CSET experts discussed the steps the United States can take to run faster over the long haul. 

Recording

Participants

Emelia (Emmy) Probasco is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where she works on the military applications of Artificial Intelligence. Prior to joining CSET, she was the Chief Communications Officer and Communications Department Head at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), leading technical and institutional communications to support and drive APL’s strategic vision. Prior to APL, Emmy served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, deploying twice to the Indo-Pacific. She also served in the Pentagon as the speechwriter to the Chief of Naval Operations and at the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in political science. She has masters’ degrees in Forced Migration and Economic and Social History from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a degree in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Jack Corrigan is a Senior Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). Previously, Jack provided research and writing assistance on a book about the growing power of the U.S. private sector and its effect on the country’s social contract. He also worked as a journalist covering federal tech and cybersecurity for Nextgov, an Atlantic Media publication. Jack holds a B.S. in Journalism and a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Ali Crawford is a Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where she works on the CyberAI Project. Previously, she has written for Divergent Options, and her work has appeared in Real Clear Defense. Ali holds an M.A. in National Security Studies from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy. She received her B.S. in International Business from West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she also competed in track and field.

Dr. Margarita Konaev is Deputy Director of Analysis and a Research Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) interested in military applications of AI and Russian military innovation. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security. Previously, she was a Non-Resident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point, a post-doctoral fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. Before joining CSET, she worked as a Senior Principal in the Marketing and Communications practice at Gartner.

Margarita’s research on international security, armed conflict, non-state actors and urban warfare in the Middle East, Russia and Eurasia has been published by the Journal of Strategic Studies, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Conflict Management and Peace Science, the French Institute of International Relations, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Lawfare, War on the Rocks, Modern War Institute, Foreign Policy Research Institute and a range of other outlets. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Brandeis University.