In the global race for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy, it’s largely a two-horse race consisting of the U.S. and China. For now, consensus wisdom appears to be that the U.S. is in the lead. But China is a formidable competitor with vast resources.
Some of China’s advantages stem from Beijing’s overt efforts to decrease reliance on foreign technology. Additionally, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) emphasis on AI being a force for geopolitical and military prowess. As such, the U.S. needs to keep pace and in what could be a long-term plus for AI-heavy exchange traded funds such as the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ ) and the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM ), Congress appears to be making strides in supporting domestic AI innovation.
The bipartisan Senate AI Working Group recently published a report entitled Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence. The deep publication calls on Congress, federal agencies, and the private sector to not only address AI-related risks but also provide an environment conducive to domestic AI advancements.
Why AI Report Matters
Undoubtedly, Congress conducts a lot of hearings and issues scores of reports that don’t amount to much. However, the Senate AI publication could reside on the opposite end of that spectrum. Adding to its relevance is the point that it was formulated with insight gleaned from a hearing attended by chief executive officers of several QQQ and QQQM that are credible leaders.
Also of note to investors evaluating QQQ and QQQM is that the bipartisan Senate group appears acutely aware that China is willing to spend big on this disruptive technology. And that the U.S. cannot afford to be tight-fisted when it comes to artificial intelligence expenditures.
“Funding for a cross-government AI research and development (R&D) effort, including relevant infrastructure that spans the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Commerce (DOC), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and all other relevant agencies and departments,” according to the report.
Additionally, the history of government/industry intersection in this country is often riddled with potholes. However, the Senate group appears cognizant of the fact that advancements should have roots in the private sector. And the government should help, not hinder, that progress. Over the long term, that could be beneficial to QQQ/QQQM member firms.
“Development of legislation related to training, retraining, and upskilling the private sector workforce to successfully participate in an AI-enabled economy,” according to the Senate report. “Such legislation might include incentives for businesses to develop strategies that integrate new technologies and reskilled employees into the workplace, and incentives for both blue- and white-collar employees to obtain retraining from community colleges and universities.”
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