A bipartisan United States congressional commission said the country should develop an initiative similar to the Manhattan Project to advance artificial intelligence development amid growing competition with China.
In its November report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) recommended that Congress “establish and fund a Manhattan Project-like program dedicated to” advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) capability.
The Manhattan Project was the codename for a joint US government and private research project that developed the first nuclear bombs during World War II. The report noted that AGI systems are those “as good as or better than human capabilities,” which could “usurp the sharpest human minds at every task.”
Source: USCC
According to the USCC, public-private partnerships similar to the Manhattan Project will be vital in advancing AGI in the US.
Among a list of specific recommendations, the commission said the US secretary of defense should mark AI projects with the highest national priority designation.
It also called for “broad multiyear contracting authority to the executive branch” and funding for leading AI, cloud, and data center companies to advance development at a “pace and scale consistent” with US goals.
The USCC said China has focused on developing emerging technologies such as AI, quantum technologies, biotechnology and battery energy storage systems in recent years.
The report said the “race for superior AI” across industries relies on successfully bringing together enabling technologies and building blocks, including advanced chips, computing power and rich data sets for language model training.
“While the United States has a lead,” at the moment with most of these AI-related technologies, “China is making rapid advancements and has demonstrated some ability to innovate around US and allied export controls” to mixed success.
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“However, if China manages to overcome these challenges, its rapid technological progress threatens the US economy and military and may erode the deterrence and stability in the Pacific, as well as tip the global balance of power,” the report said.
As part of its other recommendations, the USCC advocates repealing trade exemptions allowing some types of Chinese goods to bypass US tariffs.
The commission was created in 2000 to monitor, investigate and publish regular reports to Congress on the trade and economic relationship between the US and China.
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