Op-Ed: Doug Kelly and Asheesh Agarwal: How AI collaboration between America and our allies can preserve freedom

"The future of AI leadership is ours to shape — but only if we act now," Doug Kelly and Asheesh Agarwal write in their latest op-ed.

At the upcoming Davos World Economic Forum, the new Trump administration has an opportunity to signal to the world a renewed and reinvigorated commitment to U.S. global technological leadership, a commitment that promises to uphold the values of freedom and democracy and to spread the economic benefits of innovation, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), around the globe.

In the face of a rising China and other authoritarian regimes, the United States must work with our allies to convert AI’s limitless potential into reality through sound policy choices that encourage investment and collaboration among all nations that value liberty.

Broadly speaking, the forum’s agenda stresses collaboration as a means to solve multiple global challenges in the “Intelligent Age.” At its heart, however, the stark choice is this: will democracies or dictatorships shape the future of technology and of AI? Democracies foster innovation to promote individual freedoms and economic opportunities, whereas authoritarian regimes exploit AI for control and manipulation.

For the policymakers, business leaders, and civic actors gathered in Switzerland, the choice is clear: we must work together to encourage innovation within and among democratic nations, counter China’s aggressive push to dominate AI globally, and avoid short-sighted and protectionist regulatory overreaches — both at home and abroad — that hamstring private sector innovators.

One reality towers above all: whoever leads in AI will lead the world in the ensuing decades, shaping every aspect of our collective global future. For the United States, today’s policy choices could ensure that we maintain our competitive edge and that the next wave of innovation advances democratic values rather than authoritarian controls.

In contrast, China wants to define the future of AI on its terms. With an ambitious $1.4 trillion plan to dominate global technology by 2030, Beijing is weaponizing AI to advance its authoritarian agenda. Through its Belt and Road Initiative and via the Digital Silk Road, China is embedding its AI systems into the global infrastructure, especially in the Global South.

As numerous media reports and studies have shown, China’s AI systems entrench suppression and surveillance — they don’t just lie and rewrite history to suit Beijing’s narrative, they export its values of censorship and control.

To implement its vision, China’s leadership has adopted a whole of society approach. Chinese companies, backed by state support, are flooding global markets with free or low-cost AI models designed to outcompete Western alternatives and create dependency on Chinese technology, which Beijing can leverage for economic and geopolitical gain. Without decisive action and collaboration among our allies, China could seize a decades-long advantage in innovation, national security, and economic growth.

To meet this challenge, the United States must deepen partnerships with allies and emerging economies across the Global South. Open-source AI can play a pivotal role by fostering collaboration and empowering nations with transparent, reliable, and cost-effective tools that reflect democratic values of an open society that embraces free markets.

At the same time, the Trump administration should emphasize to our allies that they must not discriminate against U.S. companies. Unfortunately, some of America’s closest allies are advancing protectionist regulations that target U.S. tech companies, while leaving their own domestic companies and Chinese competitors alone.

These types of policies stifle investment and innovation while allowing China to dominate emerging markets. This short-sightedness undermines American companies, the investment climate of our allies, and the collective strength of democratic nations in shaping AI’s future.

At Davos, policymakers must understand that the only way to counter authoritarian systems is to collaborate on policies that encourage innovation, rather than to splinter into protectionist regimes that ultimately suppress it.

The Trump administration and the new Congress have a golden opportunity to secure American security, prosperity, and global leadership for decades to come by investing heavily in the enablers of American technological leadership.

This includes embracing pro-innovation policies over excessive regulation, securing new power generating and transmission capabilities, strengthening our grid (including significant cybersecurity upgrades), encouraging private-sector partnerships, and investing in the infrastructure and talent pipelines needed to sustain leadership in both open- and closed-source AI.

At the international level, the U.S. must lead efforts to establish governance frameworks that reflect democratic values, ensuring American AI becomes the preferred choice for partners worldwide.

The time for passivity has ended. By acting decisively and with purpose, America can ensure AI’s transformative potential serves the interests of freedom, innovation, and shared prosperity. The future of AI leadership is ours to shape — but only if we act now.

Doug Kelly is CEO of the American Edge Project (AEP), which advocates for American tech leadership.

Asheesh Agarwal is an advisor to AEP and a former official in the first Trump administration.