At the Hill and Valley Forum, a recently held conference, high-profile figures from the technology sector gathered to discuss pivotal topics regarding U.S. competition with China in the emerging AI landscape.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and venture capitalist Keith Rabois participated in a series of interviews, while key government officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, delivered keynote addresses outlining the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The forum’s theme, ‘Rebuilding America,’ emphasized the urgency for the U.S. to outpace China in developing critical technologies for the AI era.
Speakers underscored that achieving this goal would require the U.S. to increase its energy production, construct numerous new data centers, and transform the Department of Defense’s traditionally resistant culture toward innovation.
Additionally, the necessity of attracting and retaining the world’s top technologists, especially from rival nations, was a recurring theme throughout the discussions.
Josh Kushner, founder of Thrive Capital, articulated this imperative, stating, “We need to make sure that the best people in the world are here and that they are building alongside our companies.”
During a panel on AI policy, Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) conveyed a similar sentiment, arguing that maintaining the presence of bright minds in the U.S. is essential to winning the competitive race against China.
“It is a matter of being inviting to other people that can actually create the future with us,” Rounds asserted.
Others went further by emphasizing the need to attract qualified individuals from competitor nations to bolster the domestic talent landscape while simultaneously undermining that of the U.S.’s adversaries.
Lux Capital founder Josh Wolfe advocated for a ‘brain drain’ from China and other adversarial countries to the U.S., seeing this as a strategic advantage.
Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, which is involved in developing military-grade autonomous vehicles, highlighted the significant contributions of immigrants to Silicon Valley.
Younis posited that there should be no barriers for individuals with advanced degrees from countries like China and Russia who wish to relocate to the U.S.
He called for nuanced immigration policies that guard against espionage without penalizing all international talent.
“We have to have nuanced policies that specifically address China or other countries, other adversaries, but not everybody,” Younis commented.
He further viewed global talent acquisition as a crucial edge for the U.S. tech sector, noting, “There are 8 billion people, and we need to continue to attract them.”
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures and a notable investor in OpenAI, identified inadequate immigration as a significant risk to maintaining U.S. technological supremacy against China.
Khosla stressed the importance of attracting talented individuals from around the world, particularly those with advanced degrees in mathematics, physics, or AI.
“Proactively go woo them to be here because it will be our largest advantage,” Khosla urged.
The issue of immigration within the tech industry has become a contentious point in recent months, particularly as factions within the Republican Party have debated the future of H-1B visas.
While some hardliners have called for curtailing these visas, essential for Silicon Valley’s workforce, others, including noted figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, maintain that these visas are crucial for the industry’s continued success.
This division represents a rare rift in the typically united Republican Party, though speakers at the Hill and Valley Forum did not directly address the ongoing H-1B visa controversy.
Immigration policy has been a hallmark issue for former President Donald Trump, whose administration has taken measures targeting both illegal and legal immigration, leading to a crackdown on international students.
In recent times, these policies have prompted legal challenges from international students seeking reinstatement of their visas, with reports of detentions arising as well.
Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) referenced the administration’s immigration policies during the forum, warning that such actions could undermine U.S. talent acquisition and hinder institutional innovation.
He also pointed out funding cuts to academic institutions, which have jeopardized research projects and overall innovation capacity.
As discussions about attracting global talent continue, the future of U.S. technological leadership hangs in the balance.
image source from：https://fortune.com/article/inside-washingtons-tech-summit-silicon-valleys-elite-gently-make-the-case-for-skilled-immigration-to-keep-an-edge-in-the-ai-arms-race/
