American Leadership in Standards: Advancing National Priorities Through Global Cooperation

As critical and emerging technologies (CETs)—including those related to artificial intelligence (AI)—advance at a rapid pace, Congress and other policymakers are hard at work to best position American interests to succeed on the global stage. Accordingly, policymakers are responding to concerns such as foreign adversaries’ industrial policy support for their own domestic industries, as well as the perception that adversaries are trying to capture global technology development forums, like standards development organizations (SDOs). Reacting to these trends, American lawmakers sometimes propose solutions that either seek to exclude some entities from standards participation or assert national, sovereign priorities into otherwise open SDO processes. But are these ideas the best way to safeguard present and future American leadership in CET and AI technology ecosystems?

This panel will explore the pivotal role of U.S. leadership in global standards development, highlighting the importance of inclusive, consensus-driven approaches led by the private sector. As global actors, including China, play an increasing role in shaping international standards, it is essential for the United States to engage meaningfully without imposing unilateral viewpoints. While these goals may seem to be in conflict at first, a path forward exists, and Congress has recently made positive strides in this direction. Panelists will discuss current and potential future policy ideas that can strike this balance, as well as the costs of missing the mark.

Panelists

1. Kedharnath Sankararaman, Policy Associate at ACT | The App Association (Moderator)

2. Paul Eisler, Vice President, Cybersecurity at USTelecom | The Broadband Association

3. Patrick Lozada, Director, Global Policy at Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

4. Elaine Newton, Principal, AI Standards and Tech Policy at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

5. Jim Matthews, President at IEEE; Director, Global Technical & Industry Standards at Corning

This is a widely attended event is jointly hosted by ACT | The App Association, Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and USTelecom | The Broadband Association.

Lunch will be served.

Register here