The AI Pork Barrel Arrives

Chuck Schumer has found a new excuse to spend $32 billion a year, and some Republicans are going along for the ride

WSJ editorial. Excerpt:

"AI innovation is accelerating. ChatGPT has undergone iterative improvements since it was first released in November 2022. As has the rest of the AI field. Mr. Schumer said Wednesday that AI is hard to regulate because it “is changing too quickly.” Fair point. But then why does Washington need to subsidize it?

Goldman Sachs estimates that U.S. private investment in AI will total $82 billion next year—more than twice as much as in China. Big tech was late to catch the AI wave. But businesses of all sizes are now using AI to develop medical treatments, improve productivity and logistics, assist customers and more.

Government has been a laggard in adopting AI, but it usually is with new technology. It’s true Beijing is spending heavily to boost its AI capabilities, especially for military uses. However, one reason the U.S. leads China in innovation is that about three-quarters of R&D is directed by private industry. Beyond pure research that private actors won’t do, government is a poor allocator of capital."