America’s Un-American AI Companies by Yaqiu Wang & Nicholas Bequelin
The United States can prevail in the AI race against China by leaning into the strengths of an open society: democratic oversight, the rule of law, robust competition, and open public debate. But that won’t happen as long as American AI companies aggressively lobby against accountability and cozy up to the state.
PHILADELPHIA—In Washington, nearly every serious proposal that could constrain American AI companies runs into the same objection: restrictions would endanger national security and future prosperity by giving China the advantage. As OpenAI CEO Sam Altman put it at a 2025 Senate hearing, the United States needs “sensible regulation” that “does not slow us down.”
