U.S. Struggles Keeping Up as AI and Metaverse Unfold

AI is “part of everything” and will only grow in importance, but the U.S. is falling behind other countries in developing AI policy, Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said Thursday during the Augmented and Virtual Reality Conference. “Innovation and technology are moving forward and policy is falling further and further behind,” DelBene said. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Extended Reality Association (XR) sponsored the conference at the AT&T Forum.

Language in the Chips and Science Act, approved in 2022 (see 2208090062), covers the immersive technologies and AI, DelBene said: “That language was really, really important -- we know that we need to build on that.” The U.S. also should consider international standards, she said. If the U.S. lacks fully developed domestic policies, DelBene added, it will be hard to be a major player as standards are developed.

People have just begun contemplating all the business models that AI will touch, they’re still “trying the technologies out,” DelBene said. “The policy side is really important,” she said: “We’ve got to make sure that we’re not left behind.” Educating lawmakers is “key,” she said. “No one is going to move forward on policy if they feel like they don’t quite understand something very well.” Lawmakers must recognize they’re not formulating policy “that will last forever.”

“We have probably the most innovative group of companies here in the United States, and we really ... lead … in many ways on the topic of XR, but our government institutions aren’t always as systemically forward-thinking,” said Elizabeth Hyman, CEO of the XR Association.

It’s critical that lawmakers “sort through a very, very challenging set of questions” on XR, Hyman said: “What the role of government is, how far it needs to go. What’s novel and new?”

While questions remain on issues from privacy and safety to the protection of intellectual property rights, AR and VR consumer devices are growing in popularity, said ITIF Vice President Daniel Castro. Advances in wireless networking are among the changes moving the technology forward, he noted.

“We’re seeing so many opportunities for AR/VR applications mature, including in the military, education, healthcare, transportation and manufacturing,” Castro said. Probably the “biggest shift that we’ve seen” is the “blend of spatial computing and AI.”

One of the Commerce Department’s priorities is “enabling” technology development and ensuring the U.S. maintains its leadership, said Ryan Rhodes, director-digital and emerging technology services at the International Trade Administration. The department is leading follow-up work on the Chips Act, and by 2030 the goal is for the U.S. to produce each year 20% of the world’s “leading edge” chips, he said. “Right now we’re at zero production, so I think that will be a big improvement.”

Commerce has worked on AI for years, and established the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s risk management framework, which is “a model for this technology throughout the world,” Rhodes said, noting the importance of the Biden administration’s executive order on AI (see 2310300056).

AI has also been a top focus of the FCC under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2408070037).

“Things look very different today than they did even just five years ago,” said Joan O’Hara, vice president-policy at the XR Association. O’Hara said XR has gotten less attention in the U.S. than in China, South Korea and parts of Europe. XR “is more than just another neat tech development but something that’s going to be transformative.”

What the metaverse is and will look like is evolving (see 2301090044), but experts agree it will involve immersive, virtual worlds where users can connect with others, work, play and shop.

Too much of the focus on AI has been happening “in silos,” said Charlie Moskowitz, senior manager-technology policy at Accenture. “People want to talk about AI in quantum and the metaverse and XR technologies,” he said: “It’s the convergence that’s really going to drive technology forward.”

Moskowitz cited as an example the ability to build digital twins (see 2210190017), but then using quantum and AI technologies “to really speed up the process by which you’re collecting data and analyzing data.” Based on a recent Accenture poll, 92% of companies are experimenting with six different use cases for the metaverse, he said. Amazon is using digital twins to improve processes in its warehouses and BMW is doing the same for the factory floor, he said.