US Lawmaker Calls for Increased Participation in International Standard Setting for Emerging Tech

Sen. Mark Warner, a three-time Wash100 award winner, said keeping U.S. competitiveness in the technology sector involves increasing U.S. participation in conferences and organizations setting standards for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Warner, a former Potomac Officers Club speaker, said at a German Marshall Fund event that the United States has become accustomed to setting all the standards that it stopped sending people, including representatives from U.S. businesses, to international standard-setting entities.

He noted that China, the primary economic competitor and technological innovation rival of the U.S., has several representatives in such bodies to help set emerging tech rules, Nextgov reported.

Warner said U.S. officials are working to correct the approach to tech standard setting, given how active rivals are in contributing to forming emerging tech rules. The lawmaker noted, however, a lack of incentives in U.S. tax laws to encourage such engagement from technology companies, especially smaller ones.