The release of the Chinese open large language model DeepSeek-R1 demonstrates that foreign countries can adapt to create high-performance artificial intelligence (AI). In a new insight, Technology and Innovation Policy Analyst Angela Luna writes that American efforts to sustain leadership in the field of AI have fallen short of their objective and argues that it is necessary to reassess whether current restrictive measures are effective or if a more holistic approach to AI development is necessary to maintain U.S. dominance in AI.

An excerpt:

DeepSeek’s success reveals that an overly restrictive global approach that lacks flexibility and adds limitations to the AI chips and models distribution may provide short-term advantages, but their long-term effectiveness in sustaining U.S. AI leadership is not guaranteed and this policy could even hamper U.S. AI development domestically, as well as the country’s market dominance internationally.

Read the analysis.