An Inflection Point For U.S. Competitiveness

Forbes

3 days ago

'Peace through strength in the 21st century can only be achieved by turning bleeding-edge technology into defense capability faster than our potential adversaries. Today, that bleeding-edge technology largely exists in the commercial world and is dual-use. Our national security R&D ecosystem was developed over the last 65 years and includes the best universities, government laboratories, commercial and defense companies, large and small, and now new defense tech founders and capital. Let's get these entities resourced and organized to take advantage of the innovation being produced and build real defense capability to secure our nation for future generations."As the United States rushes toward its 250th birthday, the nation faces a watershed moment. A moment that will determine whether it sustains its hard-fought and hard-won pole position as the world's leading innovation-driven economy and military power; or whether it falters, falling behind others in a rapidly shifting, global race.
Rapid advancements across nearly every technology are emerging and converging at an unprecedented pace. The fundamental question is: does America possess the capacity—and the resolve—to lead and set the global pace in this era of disruptive innovation?
The Great Convergence
"In this era of relentless technological upheaval, the question is no longer whether the United States can innovate — it's whether we can innovate fast enough to stay ahead. The future belongs to those who harness the chaos of convergence, transforming disruptive technologies into strategic advantage. The key is focus, synthesis, and collaboration across our entire ecosystem of academia, industry, and national labs. The clock is ticking while our global competitors are accelerating their pace.'Today's tech-based innovation landscape is a whirlwind. Farmers harness satellites, sensors, and AI to optimize yields; physicians stand on the brink of personalized medicine driven by genomics and machine learning; energy innovators are reimagining the grid with renewables, nuclear, and fusion; urban planners deploy data analytics to improve city life; cybersecurity experts leverage AI to defend against increasingly sophisticated threats; and AI itself is pushing a generational shift toward how the nation conceives of generating and harnessing energy.
This is not incremental progress—it is a collision of technologies rewriting the rules of industry and society. Economist Joseph Schumpeter described this as 'creative destruction,' where innovation displaces old business models to ignite new waves of economic growth. However, the pace of this powerful force is accelerating: in 2023, for example, the turnover rate of firms in the S&P 500 was 31.4 percent—more than eight percentage points above its 10-year rolling average.
The United States is not running this race alone – other nations and regions are on the track and jockeying to overtake the leader. China's aggressive strategies aim to dominate global markets and reshape security paradigms, challenging America's longstanding leadership. President Trump's recent warning to the White House OSTP underscores the urgency: 'Rivals abroad seek to usurp America's position as the world's greatest maker of marvels and producer of knowledge.' The stakes are clear—who leads in AI, quantum, biotech, and frontier tech will shape the future global order.
Critical decisions lie ahead, the answer to which will determine if the United States is ready to rise to the occasion:
The Urgency of Action
'We must meet this moment and work together to reap the benefits of these new technologies. Exercising new models for productive partnerships among all elements of the ecosystem is essential.'In response to mounting global competition and to help address these strategic questions, the Council on Competitiveness' Technology Leadership and Strategy Initiative, now in its 16th year, has issued a comprehensive new blueprint: Compact for America: A Call to Action for a New, Tech-Driven Industrial Base and National Innovation Ecosystem. This bold plan distills insights captured over several years of intense dialogue from some fifty of the nation's top chief technology officers from across sectors. This major report now offers a strategic pathway forward — a blueprint centers on four critical pillars:
The convergence of platform technologies presents a 'perfect storm.' As innovation capacity and capability become increasingly vital to a nation's competitiveness — now on par with military and economic strength — the United States' ability to lead in innovation will determine its place in the global world order. Our leaders must prioritize the path of innovating relentlessly and leading decisively; the alternative is risking falling behind in the shadows of competitors eager to reshape the future in their image.
The TLSI Compact for America is a rallying cry for leaders across sectors to unite behind a shared vision: restore America's innovation capacity and capability, secure its economic prosperity, and safeguard its national security in an increasingly competitive world.