America's Technology Lead Depends on High-Skilled Workers

China’s recent release of DeepSeek has escalated the AI race between the U.S. and China, and the competition for the best and brightest minds will be critical. Talent is a leading factor in the leadership race in emerging technologies. While China far outpaces the U.S. in its supply of domestic talent, the U.S. has historically maintained its leadership through its ability to attract and retain international talent. The U.S. is in danger of losing that lead, unless it expands the flow of highly skilled immigration, and invests in expanding the American skilled workforce.

As the U.S. economy accelerates its technological and digital transformation, it faces the challenge of finding workers to fit the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) jobs available. Unfortunately, the U.S. domestic talent pipeline — including in the burgeoning AI industry¹ — is not growing quickly enough to meet the escalating demand.

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