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Google’s own safety chief, Royal Hansen, made a sober but necessary point recently: slowing AI development for the sake of feeling safe is not a strategy, it’s a surrender. Hansen urged responsible deployment and stronger defensive measures, not a blanket moratorium that would hand the future to our rivals. That assessment should ring alarm bells in Washington, where performative pauses too often mask an appetite for control rather than solutions.
The real competition isn’t about moral posturing; it’s about compute, energy, and national power. If lawmakers insist on throttling American innovation, they forget history — restrictions seldom stop bad actors, they only hamstring those who play by the rules. Conservatives should champion a policy that protects citizens while keeping the United States out in front, not cowering behind regulations that benefit adversaries.
Hansen highlighted public-private efforts like the Genesis Mission and collaboration with the Department of Energy and OSTP as the kind of sane approach that actually delivers results. When government and industry focus on practical partnerships — science, energy, quantum research — we build an advantage, not a bureaucracy. That alignment, not theatrical calls to “slow down,” will create jobs, secure supply chains, and keep breakthroughs on American soil.
On security, Hansen’s warning is clear: attackers will use every tool available, and defenders must do the same. Conservatives should support robust cybersecurity and targeted oversight that raises safeguards without strangling innovation. The right response is to harden systems, fund national labs, and equip defenders — not to handcuff pioneers because elites prefer the comfort of inertia.
Let’s be blunt: the idea of putting America on pause while the rest of the world races ahead is reckless. Regulation born of panic or virtue-signaling will hollow out our manufacturing base, delay medical advances, and leave our military at a computational disadvantage. A measured approach that permits development under accountable rules is the only path that preserves prosperity and security.
Energy and compute are the new battlegrounds, and Hansen was right to point to them as central to the race. Winning requires investment in infrastructure, spectrum, power, and modernized labs — policies conservatives have long argued for when it comes to energy independence. Invest in American capacity and we won’t be begging for access to foreign servers or foreign technology during crises.
We should welcome Google’s public commitment to responsible AI while staying skeptical of concentrated power in Silicon Valley. Companies can be partners but must be held to clear, accountable standards that protect consumers and free speech. Conservatives can and should push for competition, decentralization, and transparency so innovation isn’t a prerogative of a few boardrooms.
The bottom line is this: fear-driven slowdowns are a luxury America cannot afford. Lawmakers who want safety should build capacity and set smart rules, not shut down the engines of progress. If the goal is to keep Americans safe and prosperous, policymakers must choose strength, not surrender.
