JD Vance Vision of Artificial Intelligence

My musing on last week's US VP speech at Grand Palais in Paris for the AI Summit Paris.

The United States stands at a crossroads in the artificial intelligence revolution. Vice President JD Vance’s address at the Paris AI Summit was a clarion call for American leadership, rejecting the risk-averse, bureaucratic European model in favor of a bold, innovation-driven future. His brilliant speech laid out a compelling vision for AI as a transformative force in economic growth, national security, and global technological leadership. The message was clear: America must lead, or Europe will be dominated by authoritarian regimes.

The Four Pillars of American AI Leadership

Vance’s framework for AI policy can be distilled into four key principles, which I fully endorse as the foundation for ensuring U.S. technological dominance:

1. Unleashing Innovation Through Deregulation
   Overregulation threatens to stifle AI’s transformative potential. The Biden administration’s AI policies, rooted in excessive caution, emphasized hypothetical risks over real-world benefits. By contrast, Vance called for a “permissionless innovation” model—one that fosters entrepreneurialism rather than encumbering it with layers of bureaucracy. If the United States burdens its AI pioneers with excessive compliance costs, the field will stagnate, and adversaries like China will surge ahead.

2. AI as an Economic Engine
   The impact of AI on economic growth cannot be overstated. AI will unlock unprecedented productivity gains, creating new industries and reshaping traditional sectors. However, these benefits will only materialize if the U.S. government adopts policies that incentivize investment and deployment. AI should not be treated as a liability but as the most powerful growth accelerator since the internet revolution. A seminal moment in Vance’s speech was when he insisted that AI was not replacing humans, but augmenting workers. He emphasized that AI will unleash a golden age for manufacturing in the U.S., making factories more efficient and competitive while creating higher-skilled jobs for American workers.

3. Securing AI for National Defense
   AI is a strategic asset, one that will define the military balance of the 21st century. The Pentagon understands this reality, but Washington policymakers must match words with action. China has already deployed AI in surveillance, cyber warfare, and battlefield applications. The United States must not only counter these threats but also take the lead in developing AI-driven defense capabilities. AI security is national security.

4. Resisting European Overreach and Technological Protectionism
   Vance correctly identified Europe’s regulatory regime as a major impediment to global AI progress. The European Union’s AI Act, laden with restrictions and compliance mandates, has already discouraged investment across the continent. Worse, some European policymakers are seeking to impose similar constraints on U.S. firms operating internationally. The United States must push back against any effort to strangle AI development under the guise of “safety” while ensuring that AI remains a tool of economic and political freedom, not an instrument of authoritarian control. He clearly encouraged our European partners to join him in his optimism for the future and to cease stifling innovation on their continent.

America’s Moment to Lead

Vance’s speech in Paris marked a 180-degree shift from the Biden administration’s defensive, fear-based approach to AI. Under President Trump, the U.S. is repositioning itself as the unambiguous leader in AI policy, recognizing that technological leadership is inseparable from economic and geopolitical dominance.

To achieve this, policymakers must enact AI-friendly tax incentives, expand public-private partnerships, and ensure that America remains the global hub for AI talent and investment. A competitive AI ecosystem requires not just deregulation but also proactive government support in infrastructure, education, and research.

The stakes could not be higher. If America cedes its AI edge, it will be to regimes that use AI to suppress freedom, not enhance it. As Vance aptly stated, AI must be a technology of empowerment, not repression.

The time to act is now. America must embrace the AI revolution on its own terms—before others dictate the rules of the game.