From R&D to Real-World Impact

Palantir’s Advice for the White House OSTP’s AI R&D Plan

Editor’s Note: This blog post highlights Palantir’s response to a Request for Information regarding the redrafting of the National AI R&D Plan. For more information on Palantir’s contributions to AI policy, visit our website here.

Improving the Nation’s AI R&D Plan

As the AI race evolves, so too must America’s stratagems for victory. Recently, Palantir submitted a response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)‘s Request for Information regarding the redrafting of the National AI R&D Plan. Our response reflects more than two decades of experience working alongside our government customers to build and deploy cutting-edge technologies. In this blog post, we share some of the directional guidance and summaries of the strategies we recommended. You can find our full response to the RFI here.

Build / Iterate / Innovate with Purpose & Speed

The United States should not be striving to win an ill-defined race to achieve Artificial General Intelligence, a focus of the original AI R&D plan. We must instead be focused on building the core requirements of effective AI implementation that reaffirms the primacy of American values through practice and by example. We believe this will help lay a fertile foundation for innovation and dynamism.

Crucially, we also stressed that a clearer strategy and theory of victory in the AI Race with the People’s Republic of China ought to be established so that the AI R&D plan can be better integrated with the institutions and challenges shaping our society. Victory will not be achieved by the nation whose government drives the most cutting-edge breakthroughs alone, nor will it be won by the nation that constructs the most comprehensive regulatory structures to govern AI. Rather, it will be our speed at building AI systems that can generate demonstrable advantages and deploy them effectively in real-world settings. The federal government can play a key role in this effort by driving risk mitigation efforts and safety frameworks that are voluntary or required, depending on risk levels and other domain and contextual factors, as well as pivoting away from needlessly onerous regulatory approaches that discourage dynamism.

Below are brief summaries of the strategies we recommended.

Strategy 1: Accelerate Advances in Applied AI to Drive U.S. Economic Growth

To position the United States as the global leader in AI, the federal government should include core investments in AI implementation infrastructure and frameworks in addition to investments in fundamental AI R&D. Investing in AI implementation will further broaden AI R&D goals by driving innovation that directly solves real-world problems, as well as indirectly through revealing limitations in current AI capabilities — pointing researchers to where further basic R&D investments need to be made.

Strategy 2: Ensure Secure and Reliable AI Systems for Nationwide Deployment

Advance applied R&D to design AI systems that are secure, reliable, and ready for widespread use in critical sectors like defense, infrastructure, and healthcare. This includes deploying tools to test and validate AI performance, protect against cybersecurity threats, and ensure resilience in real-world applications. Research should support rapid deployment of secure AI solutions, particularly to counter foreign threats and maintain U.S. dominance in strategic technology applications.

Strategy 3: Develop Shared Resources to Enable AI Access and Adoption

Create and provide access to shared datasets, cloud-based AI platforms, and testing environments to lower barriers for businesses, startups, and communities adopting AI. These resources should support practical AI applications, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to compete globally. By prioritizing American users and fostering a diverse ecosystem, these efforts will accelerate AI adoption, drive innovation, and enhance U.S. economic competitiveness. The proposed National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource is one excellent example of a tool that could help deliver against this objective.

Strategy 4: Establish Industry-Led Standards to Facilitate AI Deployment

While the federal government should avoid burdensome regulatory frameworks that dampen America’s innovative spirit and discourage dynamism, it can play a critical role by convening major stakeholders to form practical sets of voluntary standards, then leveraging its authority to ensure these voluntary frameworks are broadly adopted.

Strategy 5: Build an AI-Ready Workforce to Spur Widespread Adoption

The disruption the AI revolution will bring to workforce sectors can be mitigated, but only if local, state, and federal governments begin investing in the American people now. At minimum, investments in educational and training programs that prepare American workers at all levels of society for this fundamental shift are necessary to avoid the emergence of large skill gaps and employment shortfalls. If done well, such programs can also help to alleviate public fears and unwarranted backlash by emphasizing characteristics of AI transformation that further elevate worker productivity, abilities, and pride in the fruits of their labor.

Strategy 6: Promote Human-AI Collaboration for Broad Workforce Integration

Just as we should focus on investing in the future America’s workforce, attention should also be paid to upskilling America’s workforce right now. To do this, the federal government should advance applied research and development to create AI systems and training programs that enhance productivity and may be readily adopted in workplaces nationwide.

Strategy 7: Expand Public-Private Partnerships to Scale AI Adoption

Promote public-private partnerships to accelerate the deployment of AI technologies, focusing on practical applications that benefit American businesses and communities. Collaborate with industry, startups, and regional innovators to create AI adoption hubs, supported by tax incentives and streamlined funding. These partnerships should prioritize rapid market entry, economic growth, and U.S. technological dominance, leveraging private-sector expertise to drive nationwide AI integration.

Strategy 8: Establish U.S. Leadership in Global AI Adoption Push

Establish U.S. leadership in global AI adoption by promoting American AI technologies, supporting infrastructure, and proven testing and evaluation approaches in international markets. Strategic collaborations should focus on deploying AI to address global challenges like cybersecurity, trade, and manufacturing, while prioritizing U.S. economic and security interests. Efforts should counter foreign dominance, attract international investment to U.S. AI ecosystems, and ensure global adoption of AI in ways that reflect American values, strengthen U.S. competitiveness. and secure U.S. interests.

Conclusion

We have the opportunity to harness AI’s transformative potential to benefit all Americans and set a standard for sensible and effective AI development and governance worldwide. By embracing a balanced approach to AI R&D that prioritizes the need to innovate with the necessity of safeguarding the fundamental rights of all Americans, we believe the United States can ensure its continued leadership in the global AI landscape while remaining grounded in American values.

Read Palantir’s full submission, which includes more concrete proposals, here.

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