JD Vance Unveils America’s AI Doctrine
The vice president’s speech at the Paris AI Summit emphasized speed, deregulation, and America’s bid for global technological supremacy.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a theoretical or futuristic concept—it has become the defining force shaping global power structures, economic dominance, and societal transformation. The Trump administration has embraced AI as a strategic pillar of its national and economic security agenda, rejecting the regulatory caution of previous administrations in favor of an aggressive pro-growth, pro-competition strategy.
Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Paris AI Action Summit this week laid out the administration’s AI doctrine: America will lead AI innovation, resist regulatory overreach, safeguard free expression, and prioritize AI-driven economic expansion.
“I’d like to make four main points today. Number one, this administration will ensure that American AI technology continues to be the gold standard worldwide, and we are the partner of choice for others, foreign countries, and certainly businesses as they expand their own use of AI,” Vance said.
This is more than just an economic race. AI is now a geopolitical weapon. Vance made this explicit in Paris, declaring that AI and other emergent technology “are dangerous in the wrong hands, but are incredible tools for liberty and prosperity in the right hands.” The Trump administration is not merely aiming for leadership in AI—it is seeking outright dominance, positioning Washington as the global gatekeeper of AI capabilities.
Vance’s ability to articulate this vision for AI stems from his background in Silicon Valley and venture capital. Consequently, he understands the intersection of capital, innovation, and strategic competition firsthand. His VC experience has given him direct exposure to the startup ecosystem, the challenges of scaling AI firms, and the global race for IP and investment.
This perspective informs his push for deregulation and market-driven policies—he sees AI not as an abstract policy issue but as a high-stakes economic and geopolitical contest where speed, agility, and private-sector leadership will determine America’s position. His approach reflects the urgency felt by the broader tech sector: the United States must lead in AI development and ensure that its policies actively support industry expansion rather than burden it with restrictive frameworks that cede ground to China and Europe.
David Sacks, White House AI & Crypto Czar, reinforced this message in a tweet: “The Vice President’s speech, being so optimistic and clear-eyed, exposes how unbalanced the media’s coverage of AI is. It’s true that AI involves both opportunities and risks, but almost all you hear about are the risks. The opportunities for America are great if we seize them.” His comment underscores the administration’s core belief: AI is not a threat to be feared but a strategic asset to be harnessed for economic and geopolitical advantage.
A New Tech Cold War: AI as a Geopolitical Weapon
Vance’s second point addressed the question of regulation: “Number two, we believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off. And we’ll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies, and I like to see that deregulatory flavor making its way into a lot of the conversations at this conference,” Vance said.
The Trump administration views the AI race as a direct challenge to America’s technological supremacy, particularly as China mobilizes its state-backed industrial ecosystem. This strategy has already reshaped global markets. When Beijing prioritizes an industry, it doesn’t just compete; it dominates, leveraging a tightly coordinated network of government financing, STEM talent pipelines, regulatory backing, industrial capacity, and sheer economies of scale. The electric vehicle (EV) sector is a case in point: China went from an also-ran to the world’s largest EV producer in just over a decade, controlling 76 percent of global EV sales and 80 percent of battery supply chains by 2024.
The lesson from China’s rise in EVs is clear—when Beijing sets its sights on an industry, it rewrites the rules of competition, and now Beijing is applying the exact blueprint to AI, with massive state backing and fiscal support for AI research and deployment. Against this backdrop, Washington sees AI not just as a battleground but as the defining front in a high-stakes contest for global power in the twenty-first century. As Vance declared, “The future is not going to be won by hand-wringing about AI safety. It will be won by building…”
Vance positioned the United States as the indispensable leader in AI innovation, emphasizing the need for collaboration with allies while safeguarding critical technologies. He declared that “American AI technology [will] continue to be the gold standard worldwide” and reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to ensuring the United States remains “the partner of choice for foreign countries and businesses.” This vision is underpinned by policies mandating that “the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S. with American-designed and manufactured chips.” Export controls will be expanded to “close pathways to adversaries attaining AI capabilities” that could challenge U.S. leadership.
Rejecting EU-style precautionary governance, Vance framed burdensome regulation as a direct threat to U.S. primacy. The administration opposes compliance measures like the EU’s Digital Services Act and GDPR, cautioning foreign governments that “it’s a terrible mistake…for your own countries” to impose similar rules. Instead, the administration seeks to maintain a pro-growth AI ecosystem, ensuring that “big tech, little tech, and all other developers” operate on a level playing field without favoritism toward incumbents.
Vance also casts AI as a battleground for free expression, directly criticizing China’s censorship-driven model, asserting, “AI must remain free from ideological bias… never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.” He condemned AI-generated content that distorts history, vowing to block systems that promote “unpopular… ahistorical social agendas.” The administration is equally committed to countering authoritarian regimes that weaponize AI for surveillance and propaganda, warning that “partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master.”
Rather than viewing AI as a threat to American workers, the administration sees it as a tool to uplift them: “AI will make our workers more productive…with higher wages, better benefits, and safer and more prosperous communities,” Vance declared. The administration will integrate AI skills into education, ensuring “our schools will teach students how to manage, how to supervise, and how to interact with AI-enabled tools.”
Vance’s ability to articulate this pro-worker vision for AI stems not only from his background in venture capital and Silicon Valley but also from his deeply rooted working-class ethos. Born in Middletown, Ohio, a once-thriving steel town hollowed out by deindustrialization, Vance embodies a rising wing of the Republican Party that merges tech optimism with populist economic priorities.
Vance linked AI’s future to industrial capacity, critiquing Western deindustrialization and emphasizing the necessity of robust infrastructure. “The AI future…will be won by building from reliable power plants to chip manufacturing facilities,” he stated. He underscored AI’s massive energy demands, warning that “AI cannot take off unless the world builds the energy infrastructure to support it.” The administration will likely prioritize energy security and semiconductor independence as two foundational pillars for sustaining U.S. AI leadership.
Given the soaring energy demands of AI-driven data centers, efforts should focus on fast-tracking permits for nuclear, geothermal, and fossil fuel plants. Streamlining regulatory approvals and expanding incentives for next-generation energy projects could help ensure a stable, high-output energy grid capable of supporting rapid AI development. At the same time, securing semiconductor sovereignty will remain a strategic imperative. The administration should accelerate domestic chip fabrication, invest in AI-optimized semiconductor research, and tighten export controls to restrict adversarial access to critical U.S. technologies.
Finally, Vance called on allies to align with U.S. standards rather than China’s subsidized alternatives. He cautioned, “Partnering with [authoritarian] regimes, it never pays off in the long term…if you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.” The administration is committed to forging trusted AI alliances that reinforce democratic values, ensuring that AI remains a force for economic growth, security, and free expression rather than a tool of authoritarian control.
Trump Vs. Europe
At the heart of the Trump administration’s AI doctrine is a deep skepticism of European regulatory overreach. The United States and the EU are locked in a growing dispute over AI governance, digital sovereignty, and economic competition, with Brussels pushing sweeping new restrictions on AI and tech platforms—moves Washington sees as protectionist and anti-competitive. Vance made this point explicit in Paris, stating, “We stand now at the frontier of an AI industry that is hungry for reliable power and high-quality semiconductors, yet too many of our friends are de-industrializing on one hand and chasing reliable power out of their nations and off their grids with the other.”
The Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), signed into law in 2022, imposed significant regulatory burdens on American tech firms. These include massive content moderation mandates that critics argue compel U.S. companies to act as de facto censors, strict data-sharing requirements that place American firms at a disadvantage while benefiting European competitors, and hefty fines along with high compliance costs that disproportionately impact U.S. platforms such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.
Vance made it clear that the Trump administration rejects Europe’s regulatory approach, warning that excessive oversight will stifle AI development and give China a competitive advantage.
The US innovators of all sizes already know what it’s like to deal with onerous international rules. Many of our most productive tech companies are forced to deal with the EU’s Digital Services Act and the massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation. Of course, we want to ensure the Internet is a safe place, but it is one thing to prevent a predator from preying on a child on the internet, and it is something quite different to prevent a grown man or woman from accessing an opinion that the government thinks is misinformation.
A Rejection Of The Summit Declaration
A defining moment of the administration’s AI strategy came with the United States and the United Kingdom’s refusal to sign the Paris AI Summit Declaration on “sustainable and inclusive AI.” While the statement was less ambitious than previous AI agreements such as the Bletchley and Seoul Declarations, the refusal of two of the world’s most influential AI powers to endorse it sent a clear message and hammered another nail in the coffin of the Brussels effect. This decision was a direct reflection of Vance’s staunch opposition to what he termed “excessive regulation” by the European Union and a broader warning against Western governments aligning with China on AI governance.
Washington sees the EU’s AI policy as stifling innovation through heavy-handed restrictions that slow AI model deployment, add unnecessary compliance costs, and create barriers to competition. The refusal to sign the declaration signals a fundamental ideological divide between the United States and the EU regarding the future of AI governance. Where Brussels seeks strict oversight, Washington insists on an entrepreneurial, market-driven approach, prioritizing speed and adaptability over precautionary regulation.
This divergence has significant implications for global AI leadership. While Europe tightens the screws on AI developers, the United States remains the world’s premier destination for AI investment. American firms now attract more than half of global AI funding, far outpacing their competitors, and are driving cutting-edge breakthroughs in AI research and application. The administration argues that establishing a lightly regulated AI ecosystem is essential to maintaining this competitive edge.
A Marathon, Not A Sprint
Victory in this contest will hinge on America’s ability to translate bold ideas into action with speed and precision. As Vance declared at the Paris AI Summit, “The AI race isn’t a marathon—it’s a sprint. And America intends to win.” However, with China rapidly scaling its AI ecosystem, winning will require more than chip bans and deregulation. The United States must build a dynamic, adaptive strategy that expands energy resources, streamlines regulation, and cultivates a highly skilled workforce. Success will depend on accelerating innovation, scaling critical technologies, and establishing a U.S.-led techno-economic coalition capable of producing at scale. Only by embracing experimentation and industrial expansion can America remain at the forefront of the most transformative technology of the century.
Mohammed Soliman is the director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at the Middle East Institute and a member of the global strategy firm McLarty Associates. He also serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and a visiting fellow with Third Way’s National Security Program. He sits on advisory boards for Ideas Beyond Borders, the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (ISAIL), and the Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (GC REAIM). Follow him on X: @ThisIsSoliman.