Ricketts at AI+ Expo: Innovation and Adoption is the Key to AI Competition for America 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, participated in the Special Competitive Studies Project’s AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C. Speaking at a fireside chat titled “Winning the AI Race with the CCP,” Ricketts made the case for how America can be the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). 

“What we have to do is create an environment where American innovators are the ones who can continue to innovate,” said Ricketts. “We shouldn’t put up rules so that other countries don’t adopt what we’re doing… Either we’re right or they’re right. Either Communist China’s centralized system, where they’re directing state-owned enterprises, is right or ours is. I believe ours is and that’s why we have to unleash the power of free enterprise and get a critical mass of our friends onboard.”

Ricketts also underscored the importance of AI for various industries important to Nebraska and the United States.

”AI has a huge potential for making us more efficient,” said Ricketts. ”In the first few months, businesses that introduce AI see a 14% increase in productivity. That means we stay ahead in productivity here in the United States. That means we’re able to set our own destiny with how we do things like pharmaceutical research, agricultural research, or defense technology research.” 

Click here to watch the fireside chat.