WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a speech yesterday morning before a breakfast meeting of The Ripon Society, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (FL-21) said he believes that America is in the middle of an “AI arms race,” and that it is critical for the President and Members of Congress to do all they can to make sure that the chips that power artificial intelligence and other top U.S. technologies are not shared with China and other adversaries in the coming years.
“AI chips are essential to our national security and our military dominance, and anybody that is not treating them as such is missing something very, very important,” Mast said in remarks to open the discussion. “I don't think Congress has any business telling our chip companies where to sell their products – full stop. But for the fact that it's not kids playing Halo on Xbox – that's not what we're talking about here. We are talking about real warfare, real casualties. This is about present day and the future of warfare. It's about real military strategy.”
“Look at Russia and Ukraine's weapon systems. Today, the battlefield is dominated by thousands of attack drones operating in coordination with one another. And in many cases, these drones operating in coordination with one another are acting totally autonomously. How does that happen? That happens because of chips and AI and this frontier of the battlefield. Think about what they're doing with these drones like a swarm of killer bees. The swarm working together is the great capability, not the individual bee. It's that swarm working together that makes it so deadly.
“AI is being used across the board for intelligence and reconnaissance. As we speak, analysts are using AI to identify targets, translate audio and text in real time, look at battlefields, look at where there are landmines, aircraft tanks, and other things as they're moving, where they could move, where they need to refuel, everything about the supply chain. That is what's being analyzed at the most rapid pace and then being fused from multiple sources of intelligence all together at once. Those are the stakes of what's going on. Think about it when we look at our nuclear submarines, probably the most advanced piece of military hardware anywhere on the globe.
“Nuclear deterrence requires operating under the enemy's radar to deliver a decisive strike at a moment's notice. What does AI calculate? It calculates the ability to deliver that decisive strike. But for our enemies, it's them calculating where are the gaps in America’s defenses? Where do we have our high tactical, high-altitude area, defense systems? Where do we have Patriot batteries? Where can we defend something and where can we not defend something? That's what they have the ability to calculate against us. All of these capabilities are powered by AI chips. I can tell you personally, I would not sell a fighter jet to China. I would not sell them an Abrams tank. And we need to be thinking very seriously before we consider selling them any of our most advanced chips.”
To that end, Mast said he has introduced legislation that is aimed at keeping U.S.-made chips and other top technologies out of the hands of the Chinese military and other adversaries around the globe. The bill is called The AI Overwatch Act. Introduced in December, the legislation would ensure that Congress has oversight over the sale of advanced AI chips to adversary nations, just as it does with arms sales. The bill would also accelerate exports of American AI to allies and partners.
“It is modeled after what we already do with foreign military sales,” the Florida lawmaker said of the legislation. “The bill uses the exact same principle that when an export shifts America's military advantage, Congress needs to have that oversight. I think we can all agree that we are in an AI arms race. And I would just close by saying don't take that from me – take it from other leaders in the Administration.
“Secretary Bessent put it very well this past December. He said there is no use in having a Golden Dome if China's AI can get around it. Or take it from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who recently said that AI will redefine the character of military affairs over the next decade. I couldn't agree more. Those are the stakes of what's at play and so much more.”
