Sen. Ernst, AI Commissioners Want Wider US Chipmaking

The Chips for America Act will help the U.S. develop manufacturing needed to compete with China and other adversaries, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Monday. Debate within Congress is growing about appropriating $50 billion for domestic chip manufacturing incentives and research initiatives (see 2105110065) related to the Endless Frontier Act (S-1260). The legislation goes as far as possible now in pushing semiconductor development, but Congress is still incrementally educating its leaders, Ernst told a Brookings virtual event.

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062) was introduced by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va., and enacted earlier this year (S-3933). It authorized but didn’t fund semiconductor manufacturing activities.

Hardware is at the center of semiconductor infrastructure, said National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Commissioner Gilman Louie. Without the chips, the U.S. can’t “power up” intelligence needed to secure AI and continue competing with China. The U.S. has a two-generation lead in design and capability, he said, but U.S. fabrication plants aren’t keeping pace. He wants a national microelectronic strategy led by the White House, as NSCAI sought in its report issued in March.

Ernst co-sponsored legislation establishing the NSCAI. At least 20 recommendations were included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, one establishing an executive-level AI office. Congress needs to continue carrying out recommendations either through legislation or the NDAA, Ernst said.

China has the goal of achieving AI dominance by 2030, noted NSCAI Chair Eric Schmidt, who used to run Google. The commission believes the U.S. will lose if it doesn’t act, he said. The NSCAI report recommends a tech competitive council with the vice president coordinating. It recommends a U.S. digital service academy.

One challenge is the “severe” shortage of digital talent in government, said NSCAI Commissioner and former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The academy would address the issue of having a “dedicated talent pipeline.” The report recommends a national reserve digital corps modeled after military reserves, she noted: It would allow civilians to work for the government for a minimum of 38 days yearly as special government employees working as advisers, instructors and developers.

Ernst called China and Russia chip industries “well-developed,” saying the U.S. has a slight edge. Congress can’t allow China to be a part of the U.S. supply chain, she said, calling American-based defense production “critical.”