The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) released today its fourth of six interim panel reports (IPR) titled, “Harnessing the New Geometry of Innovation.”
The Report diagnoses the stakes of the techno-economic competition, discusses how technology manifests as a form of national power; compares the U.S. and People’s Republic China (PRC) approaches to innovation, and analyzes the gaps that have emerged between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in key technology areas including artificial intelligence (AI), next generation networks, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.
“This SCSP report lays out a clear plan for leveraging our best minds across the private sector and building on America’s strengths to help navigate global competition,” said SCSP Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
The IPR concludes that America must adapt to a “new geometry of innovation” by building a national public private process sustained by a long-term organization to build specific technology actions plans to succeed in a competition between the world’s two largest economies. “Tomorrow’s technology platforms are already being built today. SCSP’s report recognizes the essential role of private sector innovators and investors in helping the government cultivate and maintain an edge in strategically important technologies,” said SCSP Advisor Reid Hoffman.
“Our Platforms IPR offers a three-part plan to enhance the competitiveness of the United States in strategic technologies,” said SCSP Senior Advisor PJ Maykish. “We explored how several competitive advantages from the private sector and government can be harnessed to win a long-term technology competition.”
The report prescribes a complete competition model that plays to America’s strengths. It recommends a national technology strategy process to study technology horizons, curate national technology action plans, match those plans to a mosaic of resources, and oversee their implementation, providing a mechanism for private sector actors to plug into each of those stages. The report offers an action plan for U.S. leadership in fusion energy as an example of such an output.To carry out this process, it recommends creating a White House-based Technology Competitiveness Council (TCC) paired with an Office of Global Competition Analysis (OCA), which could be further supported by a U.S. Advanced Technology Forum (USATF) sitting outside of government.
“This report recognizes the power of bold technology bets to inspire and galvanize our entire innovation ecosystem behind advances that can ensure that the United States builds technologies that serve the national interest and set the rules of the road for the 21st Century,” said SCSP CEO and President Ylli Bajraktari.
For more information about the Economy IPR, Intelligence IPR, Defense IPR, or SCSP’s first report titled “Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness,” please contact Tara Rigler at tmr@scsp.ai.