Podcast Summary

The Journal. — November 5, 2025

Episode: The Man Leading Trump’s AI Charge Against China
Hosts: Jessica Mendoza, Ryan Knutson
Guest: Michael Kratsios (Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy)

Overview

This episode features a live interview with Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s top technology advisor and recently re-appointed head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The discussion centers on the US’s strategy for winning the global race in artificial intelligence (AI), competition with China, policy on AI chip exports, domestic and governmental AI adoption, regulatory philosophy, power infrastructure, and the societal questions AI raises.

Kratsios lays out the administration’s three-pronged strategy: innovation leadership, tech infrastructure (especially around power and chips), and a robust approach to exporting American AI globally—with a carefully nuanced posture specifically regarding China. He also addresses AI’s societal risks, especially for young people, the government’s regulatory approach, and whether the US is witnessing an AI investment bubble.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown and OSTP Activities

• Context: Kratsios is joining remotely due to a government shutdown (now in its fifth week), which impacts travel but not the agency’s main agenda.
• Quote:

  “Generally speaking, we are full steam ahead on executing our action plan and driving the President's agenda forward…”
  — Michael Kratsios [02:34]

2. Defining "Winning" the AI Race

• Not a Moon Landing Moment: Winning in AI isn’t as visually concrete as the space race—success means global adoption of American technology, not a singular accomplishment.
• The Three-Pronged Strategy:
  • 1. Innovation: The US must remain home to top AI breakthroughs. Regulations should foster deployment of US technologies.
  • 2. Infrastructure: Massive investment required in data centers and electricity generation, notably nuclear energy.
  • 3. Diplomacy: Actively encouraging global partners (with the exception of China) to adopt American AI, via both chips and applications.
• Quote:

  “If you follow that, we're ultimately going to have widespread adoption of American tech and that—that’s what winning looks like.”
  — Michael Kratsios [04:37]

3. AI Adoption Within the US Government

• Pace: The public sector is slower than private enterprise in tech adoption and likely always will be.
• Current Efforts: Exciting pilots, including the Veterans Affairs (VA) using AI for diagnostics and practitioner tools.
• Quote:

  “I will say…it never is at the pace that you see in the private sector—and you never should expect the government to be an early adopter.”
  — Michael Kratsios [05:02]

4. US Approach to AI Competition with China

• Export Controls: The US restricts top chips’ export to China, reaffirmed in recent discussions with President Xi. Most export controls focus almost exclusively on China.
• Diplomatic Balance: Emphasis on sharing tech with trusted countries, tight controls for China due to national security risks.
• Quote:

  “…those chips were not on the table for the Chinese. And I think that that's really important.”
  — Michael Kratsios [06:25]

5. Concerns Over US AI Tech Leaking to China

• Safeguards: Export licenses come with strict restrictions; violation results in loss of access.
• Quote:

  “…if you…break the rules and ultimately diffuse those to places that you're not allowed to, then you wouldn't be able to get any chips going forward.”
  — Michael Kratsios [07:51]

6. Public AI Skepticism and Education

• Public Sentiment Gap: 83% of Chinese people view AI as more beneficial than harmful, versus only 39% in the US.
• Administration's Response: Focus on highlighting benefits (especially in medicine), and education initiatives for K–12 students about AI’s risks and uses.
• Quote:

  “The more education…the better that we can do in teaching our students in K through 12 how to leverage this technology, the better off we'll be as a country…”
  — Michael Kratsios [09:11]

7. AI Safety and Regulation for Minors

• Recent Legislation: Senate introduces bipartisan bill banning AI chatbots for minors and criminalizing certain harms.
• Kratsios’s Stance: Welcomes bipartisan cooperation on AI child safety, noting personal investment as a new father.
• Quote:

  “I'm a new father. I take this stuff very seriously…one place that we can all agree on is we have to look carefully at how it affects our youth.”
  — Michael Kratsios [10:13]

8. Personal Dimensions: Parenting and AI

• At Home: Kratsios and his wife debate how they'll raise their son in a world with pervasive AI, highlighting both its rapid improvement and inevitability in daily life.
• Humorous Quote:

  “I'll ask ChatGPT or whatever version it'll be…what you should be doing.”
  — Jessica Mendoza [11:43]

9. AI Regulation Philosophy

• Sector- and Use-Case Specific: Regulation should fall under existing agencies (FDA, NHTSA, FAA) as AI integrates with products they already oversee.
• Expertise Challenge: Agencies must hire talent who understand AI nuances, despite recent federal hiring cuts.
• Quote:

  “The best approach to AI reg is for it to be use case and sector specific…”
  — Michael Kratsios [11:59]

10. US Infrastructure and Power Generation

• China’s Advantage: China leads in adding electrical capacity; US must make up ground.
• US Solution: "Nuclear, as quickly as possible"—including deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2028.
• Quote:

  “We're seeing time where you could actually see sort of Americans connected to new nuclear power sort of at the beginning of the next decade.”
  — Michael Kratsios [15:49]

11. Is There an AI Bubble?

• Kratsios’s View: Unconcerned; argues we’re at the early phase, and current investment matches actual adoption needs. Stresses confidence in US capital markets.
• Quote:

  “…if you try to map that to…energy consumption and chip demand…you're going to see the adoption uptick by people…but, you know, much more than just individual consumers.”
  — Michael Kratsios [16:41]

12. The Marathon Analogy—How Far Along are We?

• Still Early:

  “Maybe we just passed the 5k mark. We've got a long way to go.”
  — Michael Kratsios [18:34]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Winning the AI race…is focused on adoption…The American tech stack can be the dominant tech stack adopted around the world.”
  — Michael Kratsios [03:22]

• “…US has the best chips, we have the best applications with the best models. We should be getting those out in the hands of all these different countries…”
  — Michael Kratsios [04:35]

• “When it comes to regulation of AI…those regulatory agencies that already have jurisdiction…should just continue to expand or mold the way that they think about regulation when this new technology is introduced.”
  — Michael Kratsios [12:26]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:13] — How the shutdown is affecting government AI work
• [03:22] — What “winning the AI race” means and the three-pronged strategy
• [05:02] — Federal government adoption of AI
• [06:04] — Export controls on chips and competition with China
• [08:14] — Dealing with public skepticism of AI
• [09:32] — Bipartisan efforts on child AI safety and regulation
• [11:59] — Regulatory philosophy: sector-specific approach
• [15:49] — Power infrastructure and nuclear energy’s role
• [16:41] — Is the US in an AI bubble?
• [18:34] — The “marathon” of AI progress

Summary

Michael Kratsios outlined the Trump administration’s ambitious, multi-layered approach to maintain American leadership in AI through focused innovation, infrastructure development, and global technology diplomacy—with careful exceptions for China. He described an emergent regulatory regime built atop existing agency expertise, with a major emphasis on education, safety (particularly for children), and bridging the practical challenges of infrastructure, public skepticism, and government hiring. Kratsios also expressed optimism about AI’s transformative potential, warning that we’re still only at the opening stages of a much longer journey.

For listeners seeking an in-depth, real-world look at how the US government sees the AI arms race, the interplay of business, national security, and policy, and the road still ahead—this episode delivers clear, candid, and nuanced insights direct from the nation’s AI point man.