Imagine two teams preparing for a world championship. One arrives with a full game plan. Coaches, players, and management are aligned around a single strategy.

The other team has extraordinary talent, but is still debating which playbook to use.

That contrast increasingly describes the global race for artificial intelligence (AI), and it should concern Californians.

From Silicon Valley startups to research powerhouses like Stanford and UC Berkeley, California sits at the heart of America’s AI ecosystem.

According to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the United States leads the world in private AI investment, much of it concentrated in California. The Bay Area is home to many companies building advanced AI systems, along with venture capital networks and talent pipelines that support their development.

But leadership isn’t guaranteed.

China is moving with a level of coordination that the United States has yet to match.

Beijing recently approved a new five-year economic blueprint for 2026 to 2030 that places artificial intelligence at the core of its national strategy. The plan includes sustained increases in research and development spending and a “whole-of-government” push to reduce reliance on Western technology.

But China’s strategy goes far beyond funding research.

Chinese leaders have set targets to expand AI adoption across major industries, while companies compete across multiple fronts—from open-source models to AI-enabled manufacturing, robotics and electric vehicles. Eighty-three percent of Chinese companies use generative AI, while just 65 percent of American companies do the same. Innovation requires a stable, high-capacity environment that the U.S. currently struggles to provide.

In short, China’s government is building multiple paths to AI advancement backed by national coordination.

The United States still has enormous advantages in this competition.

American companies lead in AI model development, semiconductor design and cloud infrastructure. Venture capital investment in AI also remains heavily concentrated in the U.S., with the Bay Area accounting for a significant share of startup funding.

But as Washington debates federal AI policy, states like California are advancing their own separate approaches, leading to confusion.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 1,000 AI-related bills have been introduced across the country in recent years, creating growing uncertainty for companies trying to build and deploy these technologies.

For early-stage companies in California, that uncertainty can translate into higher compliance costs, slower product deployment, and tougher decisions about where to build and scale. For larger firms, it creates friction that competitors abroad don’t face.

While China treats AI as a national mission, in the United States AI is more of a campaign issue. Debates about AI policy now appear in political messaging, campaign platforms, and partisan arguments.

Healthy debate about emerging technologies is essential. But iif America fails to align its strategy and move faster, the consequences will be generational.

Weaker national security. A loss of global economic leadership. Trillions of dollars lost in scientific and technological breakthroughs.

And a global digital ecosystem built on authoritarian values.

The AI race is about economic strength, national security, and the kind of technological future the world inherits. China is moving rapidly with that goal in mind.

America can do the same by taking three necessary steps.

First, Congress should codify and fund President Donald Trump’s “American AI Action Plan,” so the country is working from a single playbook that provides consistency across states, while enabling continued innovation.

Second, the federal government should set light-touch national guardrails that prevent a 50-state patchwork of conflicting rules while removing unnecessary barriers to innovation.

Third, states like California need to take the lead in developing America’s AI capacity, particularly by investing in power generation, streamlining permitting for data centers, developing deep talent pools, and accelerating AI adoption across their economies.

That’s American AI alignment. And it’s the key to victory in this critical race.

Doug Kelly is CEO of the American Edge Project, an advocacy group focused on protecting and promoting American leadership in innovation

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