The United States must now start working very hard with allies to secure democratic advantage in the domain of frontier AI. We suggest how to manage the convergence of three great vectors: private sector–led innovation, emerging threats, and international efforts.
The United States must now start working very hard with allies to secure democratic advantage in the domain of frontier AI. We suggest how to manage the convergence of three great vectors: private sector–led innovation, emerging threats, and international efforts. An essential starting point is to build a defensive agenda, build a historic public-private partnership, and design overlapping circles of international cooperation. The time to start shaping the national security agenda for AI has arrived.
Key Takeaways
- The national security agenda for AI goes well beyond just evaluating the safety of private products. Using frontier AI, the US has to evaluate and counter what our most dangerous enemies can do with frontier AI.
- This agenda calls for three circles of international cooperation: among core participants in coalition defense; among AI producers; and among the wider community worried about the risks.
- This agenda envisions a historic public-private partnership, with at least ten major issues on the table, as the government will rely on best-in-world private help for coalition defense.
- The rise of powerful open-weights models creates special risks. At a minimum, governments must have their own independent capacity to evaluate the dangers before such models are deployed.