WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. is approaching a \u201ccritical moment\u201d in the global technology race, and the price of losing could be a world beholden to China, according to a report by defense and technology experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is going to be the defining feature of global politics for the rest of our lives,\u201d Bob Work, who served as deputy defense secretary in both the Obama and Trump administrations, told reporters Monday. \u201cIt is going to determine who is the greatest economic power in the 21st century. It\u2019s going to determine who is the greatest military power. It is a competition that we simply must win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nearly 200-page assessment, called the \u201cMid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness,\u201d is the first published by the Special Competitive Studies Project, a private group led by Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and co-chairman of the U.S government\u2019s National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, and Work, who serves on the group\u2019s board of advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organization seeks to build on the work completed by the congressionally mandated AI commission, which identified technology as the central element of the rivalry between the U.S. and China. The commission wrapped up its work last October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report, the years 2025 to 2030 will prove critical in deciding whether the U.S. keeps pace or falls behind in the technology battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Losing the competition could comprise Americans\u2019 daily lives, the report said. Not only could China use its techno-economic advantage for political leverage, but Chinese domination could threaten free access to the internet and create a dependence on the country for most core digital technologies, making nations vulnerable to cyber attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUp to this point, because of the 20 years we spent in the Middle East, it kind of took our eyes off the ball,\u201d Work said. \u201cAs this technological rivalry and competition was really growing in strength, we didn\u2019t really respond as we normally have done in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three technology battlegrounds \u2014 microelectronics, fifth-generation wireless technology (5G), and AI \u2014 tell the story of the U.S. and its allies coming perilously close to ceding the strategic technology landscape, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those technologies represent the critical hardware, network infrastructure and software underpinning everyday life in the U.S. as well as the country\u2019s national security apparatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite recent congressional action, the report\u2019s authors said that progress in those fields illustrates reactive policymaking and a disconnect between the private and public sectors. More fundamentally, the report said the U.S. has failed to connect technology developments to strategic competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the call with reporters, Schmidt specifically pointed to the danger posed by bioweapons designed using AI. Using AI, actors could treat biology and chemistry akin to building blocks, rapidly mixing and matching different combinations of compounds to create viruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be possible for bad actors to take the large databases of how biology works, and use it to generate things which hurt human beings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report also emphasized the likelihood of great power conflict, particularly involving Russia and China, in the years to come. While combat in traditional domains could still play a significant role, the report said that warfare will also be waged with and against industrial and financial power and pit innovation ecosystems against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schmidt, who spoke while coming back from a 36-hour visit to Ukraine, highlighted the role information technologies have played thus far in the country\u2019s conflict with Russia. By moving the country\u2019s data to the cloud, Ukrainian leaders were able to protect the country\u2019s data from Russian hackers and strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In future conflicts, the use of technologies will only expand, the report stated. To get ahead on these key technologies, the report called on the U.S. military to implement \u201cOffset-X Strategy\u201d to make the military \u201cbetter prepared and positioned to outsmart, outpace, outmaneuver, and \u2014 as necessary \u2014 outgun the People\u2019s Liberation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The approach focuses on expanding network-based operations and more dispersed, smaller units equipped with sensors and battle management software to make warfighters more situationally aware. The report also called for increased human-machine collaboration and an emphasis on software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make investments in these areas, the report asked Congress to include items in its next National Defense Authorization Bill that align with key technology areas and the \u201cOffset-X Strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The components of the strategy did not contain any recommendations on lethal autonomous weapon systems. However, the organization wrote that any application of emerging technologies for military purposes can and should be done in ways that are consistent with the laws of armed conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 2025 to 2030 period will prove critical in deciding whether the U.S. keeps pace or falls behind in the technology battle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":39672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":6,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"10":{"categories":["newsletters","home","global","daily-news-roundup"],"primary_category":"global"}}},"categories":[6,10,29,32,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3296],"class_list":["post-30971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-cyber","category-home","category-newsletters","category-unmanned"],"acf":{"subheadline":"Report published by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt\u2019s defense group details state of US-China competition","legacy_arc_id":"MXPSB2UWMBBRLBNSPPWSSB6BHM","arc_canonical_url":"\/artificial-intelligence\/2022\/09\/13\/us-approaching-critical-time-in-tech-race-with-china-report-says\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n