Op-Ed: Congress needs to ensure that the AI future belongs to our kids, not to Beijing
Rep. Ashley Hinson
Washington Reporter
March 20, 2026
When I was growing up, artificial intelligence was something that only existed in Sci-Fi movies. But, by the time my two boys are out of school, the emerging technology will shape nearly every aspect of their lives — the job market they navigate, the infrastructure they use, and whether the country they inherit is still the most powerful and innovative on earth.
As a mom, I think about that a lot. As a member of Congress, I am on a mission to keep America in a position of strength.
Because make no mistake about it: the decisions Washington makes on AI over the next few years will shape the world my boys, and your kids, will live in and raise families of their own.
Of course, as with any significant technological innovation, we need to be as thoughtful and thorough in our scrutiny of the risks as we are in our excitement about the benefits.
But fear-mongering and calls for heavy-handed overregulation are a dangerously misguided approach — and that’s exactly what I’m seeing from the political Left. Seeking cheap political points during campaign season, Democrats in Congress threaten to take America out of the driver’s seat of AI dominance and invite global competitors, like China, to take a lead we may never be able to overcome.
Back home in Iowa, we’re not just debating AI in the abstract. We’re living it.
AI-powered tools are helping to transform the agriculture industry, as precision farming is moving from concept to common practice. Farmers, for example, are using AI to determine how much fertilizer and weed killer should be used on crops, while drone technology is helping collect data to track water movement and better target resources, saving time and money while preserving soil and land.
And the data centers that serve as the critical digital infrastructure needed to power these tools? Those investments are creating real jobs in rural communities, generating local tax revenue, and spurring the kind of economic growth that Washington promises, but rarely delivers.
So what should Washington do to follow Iowa’s lead?
Congress needs to make smart investments in our workforce. The data centers being built today need skilled workers — not just for construction, but to operate and manage sophisticated facilities for years to come. And we need to prepare our workforce for the AI economy.
Because the truth is: if we don’t, China will. And the race for AI dominance is not one we can afford to lose to the Chinese Communist Party.
I serve on the House Select Committee on China, and I can tell you that the Chinese are not developing these technologies out of goodwill. They are, in essence, attempting to weaponize it. And right now, they are actively exploiting gaps in our own laws and enforcement to gain ground.
When we see evidence that China continues to acquire advanced chips in violation of our export controls, that’s not a hypothetical threat. That is a failure we have a responsibility to fix.
I’m focused on strengthening trade enforcement and empowering the Department of Justice to pursue those who circumvent our laws. We should also be asking whether our existing export controls go far enough to block China’s access to the most advanced AI chips. These are not Democratic or Republican questions. They are questions every American parent should be asking, because the stakes are that high.
Smart policy, strong enforcement, and a workforce ready for what’s next — that’s how we make sure the future belongs to our kids, not to Beijing.
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