OpenAI declares AI a "national security issue" and calls for US dominance

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In a strategy paper to the US government, OpenAI calls for far-reaching measures to secure America's leading position in artificial intelligence. With reference to national security, interventions in competition and copyright are also legitimized.

In the 15-page memo (PDF) to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, OpenAI Vice President Christopher Lehane warns that the competition from China is catching up in the race for AI supremacy. The Chinese AI model DeepSeek, for example, shows that the US lead is shrinking. To avert this and maintain America's "global dominance" in AI, he proposes a whole range of measures. OpenAI repeatedly argues in favor of national and economic security to avoid restrictions for the industry.

Protection from federal laws and the AI Act

Under the heading of "freedom to innovate", OpenAI is calling for central regulation at federal level. This is intended to prevent AI companies from having to comply with a "patchwork" of laws in the individual US states. In return, however, companies should voluntarily allow the government to look at their cards and adhere to technical standards. In return, however, they should also have a say in national security projects. OpenAI is also calling for a comprehensive export control strategy for AI. This is not just about restricting China's access to American technology, but also specifically promoting the spread of "democratic AI". Allied countries are to be given incentives to submit to the American set of rules. The reward is preferential access to US technology. OpenAI sees AI regulations such as the European AI Act as a hindrance.

Copyright stands in the way of learning AI systems

A key point concerns copyright law: OpenAI is calling for the "fair use" doctrine to continue to allow AI systems to be trained with copyrighted material without the consent of the rights holders. Otherwise, this would open the door for China to get ahead with more training data, according to the warning. OpenAI justifies this as an encroachment on the rights of the copyright holders on the grounds of protecting innovation and national security. Google supports this position in its statement and argues that access to public data is crucial for the further development of AI systems. According to Google, lengthy negotiations over copyrights would slow down innovation.

Other proposals concern massive investment in infrastructure and training to drive the expansion of data centers and the development of the AI ecosystem in the US. National security arguments are also being used here to achieve faster approval. In addition, the US government should set a good example and focus more on AI itself. To this end, OpenAI wants to accelerate the procurement process for new technologies and also develop customized AI models for public authorities.

Google is committed to more open markets instead of national control

Unlike OpenAI, Google advocates a more market-oriented approach. The search engine company also supports uniform federal rules and increased use of AI by public authorities. However, instead of strict export controls, Google relies on international cooperation for technical standards and risk protocols. The different approaches reflect the business models: as an AI specialist, OpenAI wants to use national regulation to its advantage, while the global company Google wishes to establish more open international markets.

The Trump administration is now examining the proposals for its national AI action plan. Landmark court decisions on copyright issues, such as in the case of the New York Times against OpenAI, are still pending.

(vza)