Sep 8, 2025, 5:49 PM ETFireside Chat, Conference Presentation, Interview

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios | Global Conference

Mission: The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) coordinates policy across four White House policy offices and multiple federal agencies (NIH, NSF, DoD) to align national capabilities with presidential priorities.
Core Objective: The Trump administration has declared it a national security imperative to achieve "unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance."
Key Technology Domains: The administration has prioritized four specific emerging technologies: artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science, nuclear energy, and biotechnology.
Presidential Directive: On March 26, President Trump issued a formal letter to Michael Kratzios outlining a three-part mandate for the next four years: securing technological leadership, restoring scientific ethics, and leveraging technology for American benefit.

Dual Approach: U.S. strategy requires simultaneously promoting domestic innovation and protecting sensitive technologies from adversaries.
"Promote" Pillar – Research & Development:
- The federal government spends $150–$170 billion annually on R&D; OSTP aims to direct these funds toward high-priority national security missions like AI and quantum.
- The focus is on deploying dollars creatively to ensure continued breakthroughs.
"Promote" Pillar – Deregulation:
- The administration seeks to remove regulatory barriers hindering commercial deployment of technologies including commercial drones, supersonic jets, autonomous vehicles, and AI-driven medical diagnostics.
- Specific regulatory hurdles, such as FDA approval processes for AI diagnostics, are identified as targets for acceleration.
"Promote" Pillar – Adoption:
- Domestic: Urges federal agencies (e.g., DoD) and the private sector to actively adopt and integrate U.S. technology stacks.
- International: Aims to establish American standards (chips, models, applications) as the global norm to prevent adversaries from exporting their own technology stacks.

Export Controls:
- Implementation of strict, simple export controls for critical technologies, with a specific focus on high-end semiconductors.
- Distinct from the previous administration's approach, the goal is to restrict adversaries (specifically the PRC) while ensuring allies retain access to U.S. technology.
- Rationale: Preventing adversaries from acquiring tools that could accelerate their catch-up strategies, targeting a hypothetical PRC capability to match the U.S. by the end of the decade.
Research Security: Measures to prevent the theft of breakthroughs generated in U.S. university and corporate labs by foreign adversaries.
Critical Infrastructure: Efforts to identify and remove "nefarious Chinese technology" embedded within U.S. and global critical infrastructure.

Biotechnology:
- Identified as an under-appreciated critical domain with implications for defense (e.g., self-growing runways) and healthcare (new diagnostics/therapeutics).
- Call to Action: Industry is urged to utilize AI breakthroughs to accelerate growth and innovation within the biotech sector.
- A recent bipartisan congressional commission report on biotech national security implications was highlighted as a key resource.
Nuclear Energy:
- Focus on restarting construction of nuclear reactors, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and fusion, despite the fundamental technology being proven decades ago.
- Rationale: Increased power generation is required to drive the AI revolution; the administration advocates an "all-above" energy approach to achieve "nuclear dominance."
Quantum Information Science:
- Recognized as a critical emerging technology requiring a whole-of-government approach to ensure U.S. leadership.

Interagency Coordination: OSTP utilizes "policy coordination committees" for each technology domain (AI, quantum, nuclear, biotech, oceans) to de-conflict policies across relevant agencies (e.g., FAA, DHS, DoD).
Upcoming Deliverables: An official AI Action Plan, requested by the President on January 23, is scheduled for delivery in mid-July; an RFI generated approximately 10,000 responses from industry, academia, and philanthropy.
Three-Legged Ecosystem: The administration emphasizes a virtuous cycle involving government-funded basic research (academia), industry commercialization, and regulatory frameworks that foster adoption.
Science Ethics: A commitment to "restore the scientific ethic" by removing political influence from research and ensuring "gold standard science" is conducted.
Workforce Development: Future agendas include reskilling and training initiatives for K-12 students and mid-career workers to leverage 21st-century technologies.

Adoption Challenge: The primary hurdle identified is not just creating breakthroughs, but safely and rapidly absorbing them into the hands of American customers, companies, and citizens.
Global Standard Setting: The administration aims to ensure the "rest of the world runs on an AI stack that is ours," countering efforts by adversaries to export their own standards.
Alliance Management: A strategic shift from the previous administration's perceived over-reliance on export controls that alienated allies; the new goal is to ensure friends and allies utilize U.S. chips and models.