Yesterday, the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) convened for an end of year board of advisors meeting in Arlington, Virginia. The SCSP Board of Advisors – Dr. Eric Schmidt, Bob Work, Dr. Nadia Schadlow, and Mac Thornberry – were joined by a number of SCSP’s panel advisors and experts.
The year in review meeting held discussions on the current state of the U.S.-China competition, with a focus on the Biden Administration’s recent National Security Strategy and two specific technologies, as well as identifying hard questions about the future of technology competition for 2023 and beyond.
“In SCSP’s first year, it pursued a rigorous research agenda into the emerging technology and national security issues facing the United States, culminating in its first report, Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness,” said SCSP Chair Dr. Eric Schmidt. “In year two, SCSP must continue to serve as a catalyst for thought leadership and action to assist the United States in orienting itself for technology competition that is occurring now and accelerate ways to ensure we remain the leader in this space.”
“SCSP’s Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness report and four interim panel reports – with two more forthcoming – outlined the challenges between now and 2025, and made critical recommendations the U.S. government, private sector, and academia must take to maintain our edge,” said SCSP Board of Advisor Nadia Schadlow.
During yesterday’s meeting, the board received a briefing from government officials on the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy and current priorities. “Engaging senior government officials is a necessary step for SCSP to understand where the government is focusing its efforts and how we can align our work,” said SCSP CEO Ylli Bajraktari. “We look forward to continuing our mission to develop recommendations that improve our competitiveness during this critical decade in our nation’s history.
The discussion also covered topics on microelectronics and quantum with experts from academia, government, and the private sector. SCSP Board of Advisor Bob Work said, “It was important to hear on the state of play on microelectronics and quantum. Maintaining our competitive edge in the computing paradigms of today and tomorrow will depend greatly on harnessing the entire American innovation ecosystem.”
During its first full year, SCSP staff conducted hundreds of engagements with government, private sector, academia, civil society, and international partners (government & private). It released hundreds of pages of analysis and issued 13 editions of its 2-2-2 newsletter. In September, in conjunction with the release of its first report, SCSP hosted the second annual Global Emerging Technology Summit, which was attended by more than 600 participants. The summit brought together leaders from the U.S. and our international partners and allies to discuss how we collectively ensure that emerging technologies help advance freedom, strengthen democracies, and protect the rules based order.
“Throughout SCSP’s process, we have engaged and brought together a vast group of diverse experts from academia, government, and industry to create a strategy for how the United States can lead in AI and emerging technology,” said Mac Thornberry, member of SCSP’s Board of Advisors. “It is critically important that we build this strategy and these recommendations together, while ensuring that we are working closely with our allies and partners to build systems aligned with democratic principles and values.”
For more information about SCSP, SCSP’s first report titled Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness, the Platforms IPR, Economy IPR, Intelligence IPR, or Defense IPR, please contact Senior Director for Communications and Public Affairs Tara Rigler at tmr@scsp.ai. To subscribe to the new SCSP newsletter, please click here: 2-2-2.