Strategic Competition > Strategic Domains
AI Governance & Leadership
Human Control, Democratic Values, Strategic Advantage
“The future of global influence will be shaped not only by who builds the most powerful AI, but by who earns the world’s trust to govern it.”
Kennedy photo from Federal Triangle Metro Stop - Washington DC.
🔹 Strategic Context
- This page is part of WISC’s Strategic Competition framework, applying geoeconomic statecraft through the STEAD model — integrating Security, Technology, Economics, Alliances, and Diplomacy — to secure U.S. leadership across critical domains.
Why AI Governance and Leadership Matter
- Artificial intelligence is reshaping everything—from how nations defend themselves to how societies govern and innovate. But the AI race is not just about faster models or more compute—it’s about which values shape the future.
- Authoritarian regimes seek to:
- Weaponize AI for surveillance, coercion, and information manipulation
- Embed closed, opaque governance standards in global systems
- To secure leadership, democratic nations must:
- Keeping humans in control
- Lead innovation in AI research and deployment
- Designing systems aligned with transparency, privacy, and civil liberties
- Ensure trusted AI diffusion among allies and emerging partners
To win the global contest, the U.S. must out-innovate authoritarian models not just technologically, but normatively—leading in trust, alignment, and democratic design.
Strategic Priorities for AI Leadership
- Advance Open, Human-Centric Governance Standards: Promote transparency, accountability, and rights-respecting AI development across international frameworks.
- Secure Access to Advanced Compute and Research Infrastructure: Ensure democratic access to large-scale compute, open datasets, and AI research tools critical to innovation leadership.
- Expand Global Alliances for AI Innovation: Build coalitions among trusted partners to share R&D, talent, and innovation ecosystems aligned with open governance values.
- Integrate AI Standards into Trade and Investment Policy: Embed trusted AI governance requirements into trade agreements, infrastructure investments, and development financing.
- Shape Emerging Market Adoption: Support emerging economies in deploying trusted AI frameworks—preventing authoritarian lock-in and expanding democratic innovation ecosystems.
Insights & Engagements
🏛️ Engaging Administration or Congress, 📰 Op-Ed / Article / Quoted 🎙️ Podcast ✍️ Policy Brief 👥 Roundtable / Event 🎤 Speaking 🎥 TV/Video 🌐 Global
AI Governance
Winning the AI Race
AI Diplomacy & Global Engagement
- 👥 🇻🇳 How AI Can Benefit Vietnam's Economy - Discussion with Central Theoretical Council - Hanoi, Vietnam - September 6, 2024
- 🎤 🇨🇦 Speech: Partnering on Technology, Trade and Energy - U.S. National Intelligence Council at Embassy of Canada - September 27, 2023
AI Empowered Autonomous
Closing Principle
In the competition of systems, those who shape the governance of AI will shape the governance of the 21st century.
👉 Related Pages
🔷 Featured Insights
A Strategic Vision for US AI Leadership - as submitted to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in requested (RFI) as input for upcoming US AI Action Plan - March 17, 2025
Speech: Ten Steps to Win the AI Race - Speech delivered at Harvard to forum sponsored by Boston Global Forum - November 25, 2024