The U.S. is in a tough spot—it needs to enforce national security measures to prevent adversaries from weaponizing AI, but overregulation risks driving top talent and investment overseas.
In the midst of an AI cold war, the US faces critical decisions about maintaining AI dominance while addressing national security concerns. Research restrictions, funding priorities, and regulations hang in the balance as the nation determines its next move.
We spoke with Sanjay Basu, Senior Director of GPU and Gen AI Solutions in Cloud Engineering at a Fortune 100 cloud infrastructure provider, about what's at stake.
Innovation-security balance: "This is the classic dilemma: How do you keep AI from falling into the wrong hands while ensuring your own AI ecosystem doesn't fall behind?" Basu asks. "The U.S. is in a tough spot—it needs to enforce national security measures to prevent adversaries from weaponizing AI, but overregulation risks driving top talent and investment overseas."
Finding solutions: Despite these challenges, Basu sees viable paths forward: "The key is finding a middle ground that protects critical AI tech without suffocating innovation. One area that absolutely needs guardrails is AI in military and defense applications. We can't risk rogue states acquiring cutting-edge AI capable of autonomous missile strikes or large-scale cyberattacks. That's a no-brainer."
Banning broad categories of AI research or over-policing open-source models will do more harm than good. Policymakers should focus on regulating high-risk AI applications rather than trying to micromanage every new model release.
Smart regulation: Basu advocates for nuanced government oversight that considers specific AI models. "Banning broad categories of AI research or over-policing open-source models will do more harm than good," he insists. "Policymakers should focus on regulating high-risk AI applications rather than trying to micromanage every new model release."
Public-private partnership: "Currently, AI R&D largely resides with private companies—OpenAI, Google, Microsoft—giving government limited control over model development and deployment. A stronger public-private partnership, similar to the internet's early days, could ensure U.S. leadership without over-reliance on a handful of tech giants."
Strategic balance: Drawing lessons from global policies, Basu warns of potential consequences if AI regulation and development aren't properly balanced. "Following Europe's path of overregulation will stifle AI progress and create an innovation gap that China will readily fill," he cautions. "Policymakers need to play chess, not checkers: protect AI from adversaries, invest in domestic infrastructure, and create smart regulations that foster growth. If the U.S. wants to maintain AI dominance, it must treat AI as a strategic asset—not just something to regulate into oblivion."
