Tech Diplomacy Now: The Chances of Federal AI Regulation
Congress may be on the verge of adopting federal guardrails on AI.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tech Diplomacy Updates
Top News of the Week
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
The Last Word
Tech Diplomacy Takes Center Stage: Krach Institute Leads the Dialogue at SCSP AI+ Expo
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue played a prominent role at the Special Competitive Studies Project AI+ Expo in Washington, DC. Michelle Giuda, Krach Institute CEO, sat down with Congressman John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, as he announced his America First AI Policy. The Institute also hosted a panel, “Winning the 21st Century Through Tech Diplomacy,” featuring Ron Ash, CEO and Chairman of Accenture Federal Services, Rear Admiral Michael Baker, Associate Director for Operations, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Dr. Cassandra Lewis, Provost, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, Minister Kosei Nomura, Head of Economic Section, Embassy of Japan, and moderated by Dr. Sorin Matei, Associate Dean of Research, Purdue University.
We discussed the imperative for the United States to shape the future of global technology leadership, rather than respond to China. Equipping public- and private-sector leaders at the intersection of technology, business, policy and global commerce is essential to that goal.
The Krach Institute’s Tech Diplomacy Academy was created to meet this challenge.
Krach Institute Renews Strategic Partnership with Guidehouse
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue announced the renewal of our strategic partnership with Guidehouse—a global leader in technology, data, and innovation. This collaboration will accelerate the adoption of trusted technology in national security, advance global tech diplomacy and equip policymakers, innovators and allies with the tools they need to lead in the new tech age. Read the full announcement.
As part of the partnership, the Krach Institute and Guidehouse brought together public- and private-sector leaders to map out “Tech Diplomacy 2040: Roadmap for Global Tech Leadership.” The clear takeaway: in a rapidly changing world, tech diplomacy must be grounded in trust, cross-sector collaboration, and coordinated global effort.
Top News of the Week – The Chances of Federal AI Regulation
On May 19, President Trump signed the “Take It Down Act” into law. This bipartisan legislation imposes stricter penalties for distributing non-consensual intimate imagery, as well as deepfakes created by artificial intelligence. This piece of legislation, as well as the December 2024 bipartisan report from the House of Representatives on Artificial Intelligence, provides a potential road map for future federal regulation on artificial intelligence.
Key Points:
After years of concern over artificial intelligence, and efforts by states to enact their own laws, Congress may be on the verge of adopting federal guardrails on AI. The recent passage of the Take It Down Act provides some clues on how this might happen.
Based on the House AI Task Force Report, Congress could pursue sectoral regulations and guidelines for AI across areas like Agriculture, Healthcare, Financial Services, and Intellectual Property.
Some members of the House of Representatives are advocating a 10-year moratorium on state and local AI regulations to give time for Congress to create nationwide rules rather than harming the industry by having to conform to different or contradictory rules in subnational jurisdictions.
More on Background:
Fragmented AI Laws Will Slow Federal IT Modernization in the US – ITIF, May 30, 2025
GOP push to ban state AI laws ignites debate: What to know – The Hill, May 28, 2025
Congress begins considering first federal AI regulations – Kansas Reflector, May 26, 2025
A bid to bar states from regulating AI is getting pushback – WaPo, May 22, 2025
House GOP eyes moratorium on state AI laws – WaPo, May 13, 2025
US state-by-state AI legislation snapshot – BLCP Law, May 2025
Bipartisan House Task Force Report on Artificial Intelligence – U.S. House of Representatives, December 2024
DIVE DEEPER: Visit the Tech Diplomacy Academy to understand the fundamentals of AI and the ethical and policy concerns surrounding this technology.
Latest News
Ukraine Says It Destroyed Dozens of Warplanes Deep Inside Russia – WSJ, June 1, 2025
US Plans Wider China Tech Sanctions with Subsidiary Crackdown – Bloomberg, May 30, 2025
Synopsys halts China sales due to US export restrictions, internal memo shows – Reuters, May 30, 2025
TSMC Evaluates Building Advanced Chip Plant in the UAE – Bloomberg, May 30, 2025
Trump Makes a New Push to ‘Decouple’ U.S. From China – NYTs, May 29, 2025
Anduril and Meta Team Up to Transform XR for the American Military – May 29, 2025
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son floats idea of US-Japan sovereign wealth fund – FT, May 25, 2025
Technology Strategy and Policy
Chinese spying on Dutch industries 'intensifying': Dutch defence minister – Reuters, May 31, 2025
America Let Its Military-Industrial Might Wither. China’s Is Booming. – WSJ, May 29, 2025
U.S. Ships Championed by Trump Cost 5 Times as Much as Asian Ones – NYTs, May 27, 2025
Options for Strengthening the Use of Defense Production Act Title VII – AIRC, May 22, 2025
U.S. Lawmakers Call for Probe into Chinese EV-Charging Startup – WSJ, May 20, 2025
How we made it: will China be the first electrostate? – FT, May 20, 2025
The Tech Industry Is Huge—and Europe’s Share of It Is Very Small – WSJ, May 19, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek pushes US rivals with R1 model upgrade – Reuters, May 29, 2025
Chinese tech groups prepare for AI future without Nvidia – FT, May 29, 2025
Nvidia to launch cheaper Blackwell AI chip for China after US export curbs, sources say – Reuters, May 26, 2025
What the Era of ‘Sovereign AI’ Means for Chip Makers – WSJ, May 23, 2025
AI reveals Dead Sea Scrolls may be older than previously thought – Archaeology News, June 7, 2025
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
An unknown individual pretended to be Susie Wiles in calls and texts to prominent Republicans and business executives – WSJ, May 29, 2025
Strengthening Undersea Cable Resilience in The Indo-Pacific – RSIS, May 23, 2025
Malaysia Downplays Huawei Deal as US Checks China’s AI Reach – Bloomberg, May 20, 2025
Critical Minerals
U.S. Dependence on China for Rare Earth Magnets Is Causing Shortages – NYTs, June 2, 2025
The West is recycling rare earths to escape China’s grip — but it’s not enough – CBNC, May 28, 2025
China Has Special Access to Rare Earths — From Myanmar – Bloomberg, May 25, 2025
Bridging Security Futures: Why Critical Minerals Matter for Southeast Asia – RSIS, May 23, 2025
How critical minerals became Beijing’s ultimate trump card in US-China trade war – SCMP, May 20, 2025
Synthetic Biology
The Dawning Age of Biotechnology – Signal, June 2, 2025
Forget Factory Farms: French Startup Gourmey Makes Cultivated Foie Gras for $3.43/lb – SynBioBeta, May 28, 2025
Biotechnology company Regeneron buying 23andMe for $256 million – Associated Press, May 19, 2025
Charting the Future of Biotechnology: An action plan for American security and prosperity – National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, April 2025
Quantum
Finland to Lead EU Quantum Defense Project Targeting Battlefield Applications – Quantum Insider, June 2, 2025
Is a quantum-cryptography apocalypse imminent? – The Conversation, June 2, 2025
Atomic Advantage: Accelerating U.S. Quantum Sensing for Next-Generation Positioning, Navigation, and Timing – CNAS, May 28, 2025
India Opens New Quantum Research Center to Boost Defense Capabilities – Quantum Insider, May 28, 2025
U.S. Defense Intelligence Flags Rivals’ Growing Military Use of Quantum Tech – Quantum Insider, May 27, 2025
China Telecom Launches Hybrid Quantum-Safe Encryption System, Completes 1,000-Kilometer Secure Call – Quantum Insider, May 20, 2025
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Should You Worry About Falling Space Debris? We Asked the Experts. – WSJ, June 1, 2025
Trump orders could end Chinese drone sales in the U.S. – WaPo, May 31, 2025
Giant 'white streak' appears over multiple US states as Chinese rocket dumps experimental fuel in space – Live Science, May 21, 2025
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Why Nvidia Can’t Just Quit China: Despite booming demand elsewhere, growth would still be hindered without world’s second-largest economy – WSJ, June 2, 2025
DRAM prices have jumped by 20% for the second month in a row — surging demand is likely due to stockpiling – Tom’s Hardware, May 30, 2025
US wins if DeepSeek runs on American AI chips, Nvidia CEO says – Nikkei Asia, May 29, 2025
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Is Now a Geopolitical Superstar. It Comes with Risks. – WSJ, May 20, 2025
Energy and Climate
Fusion and China’s Quest for Energy Independence – IGCC, May 27, 2025
The Spain Power Outage: Lessons for Countries Switching to Clean Energy – RSIS, May 27, 2025
Tax Bill to End US Reliance on China Solar Will Slow Green Shift – Bloomberg, May 27, 2025
Trump’s Tariffs and Tax Bill May Derail U.S. Battery Industry – NYTs, May 26, 2025
Chinese solar billionaire steps back as industry turmoil deepens – FT, May 26, 2025
Opinion and Commentary
AI Is Learning to Escape Human Control: Models rewrite code to avoid being shut down. That’s why ‘alignment’ is a matter of such urgency.
Judd Rosenblatt, Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2025
Short-Circuited: How Semiconductor Tariffs Would Harm the U.S. Economy and Digital Industry Leadership – Stephen Ezell, Trelysa Long, and Meghan Ostertag, ITIF, May 21, 2025
Nvidia’s Middle East expansion is a bet against China – Harry Clynch, Unherd, May 20, 2025
The Last Word
“Scope, scale, speed, range of information is going to be the decision changer in the 21st century.”
– Rear Admiral Michael Baker, Associate Director for Operations, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, at the Krach Institute panel discussion at the Special Competitive Studies Project AI+ Expo
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.