The era of arguing about tariffs on steel and soybeans is over. The real battleground for global dominance is digital.
The United States must move beyond traditional economic statecraft and implement a comprehensive “Digital Iron Curtain” strategy to counter China’s technological ambitions and safeguard its own national security, even if it means fundamentally altering the concept of a global, open internet.
Explain what the core components of AI dominance are: advanced semiconductors, massive datasets, and cloud computing infrastructure.
Discuss current U.S. export controls on chips (Nvidia, AMD) and the Commerce Department’s efforts.
These controls have a loophole—Chinese firms can rent U.S. cloud infrastructure. Propose new regulations (like the one just announced) requiring cloud providers to act as gatekeepers, effectively denying adversaries access to America’s core computational power.
Discuss the TikTok threat not just as propaganda, but as a massive data-harvesting operation.
All data generated by U.S. citizens and businesses (from healthcare records to social media activity) should be treated as a strategic national asset.
Propose legislation that prevents U.S. data from being stored or processed by companies with ties to adversarial nations, citing the risk of it being used to train their AI models.
Connect the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., reliance on China for PPE, pharmaceuticals) to the technology sector.
The U.S. cannot afford a similar vulnerability in its tech supply chain (e.g., circuit boards, drone components, network hardware).
Analyze the role of tax credits and government spending (like the CHIPS Act) as a starting point, but argue for a more aggressive industrial policy to rebuild domestic manufacturing in critical tech sectors.
Acknowledge the counterarguments: A bifurcated internet could stifle innovation, hurt U.S. tech companies, and run counter to First Amendment principles of openness.
Rebuttal: The alternative is ceding the technological high ground to a strategic adversary, which poses a far greater long-term risk to economic prosperity and national sovereignty.
Call to Action: Urge lawmakers to move with urgency to debate and enact a coherent, bipartisan strategy that treats digital infrastructure and data with the same seriousness as physical borders and military hardware.
