The Foreign Affairs Interview The Limits of the American Way of AI
13 snips
Nov 27, 2025 
Ben Buchanan, a technology and national-security scholar who advised the White House on AI, shares insights on the shifting landscape of artificial intelligence amidst U.S.-China competition. He warns that America’s AI dominance is at risk without better coordination between the government and tech sectors. Buchanan discusses the importance of energy for large-scale AI, the implications of government policies on chip exports, and argues for a grand bargain to strengthen American AI while addressing national security concerns.
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Private Sector Is Driving This AI Revolution
- AI is the first major revolutionary technology of the last century coming primarily from the private sector rather than government direction.
- That private-sector origin creates policy challenges because the government lacks the historical understanding and levers to shape development.
We Have The Cards — Use Them Together
- The U.S. holds key advantages: computing supply chain control, global talent, and unmatched capital markets.
- Those advantages only matter if government and industry coordinate to play their cards effectively.
DeepSeek Showed Talent But Hit A Chip Ceiling
- DeepSeek's public model demonstrated high technical talent but was constrained by chip access and used U.S. chips.
- Buchanan notes DeepSeek later tried Chinese-made chips and failed, showing compute—not talent—was the binding constraint.
