(NewsUSA) - Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) refers to AI systems that can operate autonomously with minimal human oversight. Unlike existing AI systems that generate responses based on prompts, evolving agentic AI can independently set goals, create plans, and execute multi-step tasks.

“AI is beginning to help build better AI,” according to experts at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in artificial intelligence.

If a self-accelerating loop in which AI capability improves and AI development compounds, the pace of capability development will far outrun projections, said Ylli Bajraktari, president of the SCSP, in a recent newsletter about agentic AI.

“An agent that can navigate complex bureaucratic systems, identify exploitable vulnerabilities, and act without leaving a clear attribution trail represents a qualitative expansion of adversarial capability,” Bajraktari emphasized.

In terms of global security, the United States should be aware that our adversaries will deploy agentic AI systems in areas where governance is weakest. Agentic AI systems could be used for coercion, espionage, and influence.

Contrary to what many policymakers might think, effective governance of agentic AI involves not the AI model that is the engine, it is the scaffolding built around it, the SCSP experts explained. This scaffolding includes:

Connectors to bridge the model to real-world infrastructure, such as email, booking systems, and financial platforms.

Memory that allows the AI system to learn and adapt across interactions over time.

Planning capabilities that break large objectives into smaller tasks, identify failure, and navigate obstacles without human intervention.

Permission structures that define what the system can access and act upon.

Guardrails that determine what the system will refuse to do (such as spending limits or human sign-offs).

Accountability remains a challenge, and governance is falling short in three key ways, according to SCSP. First, responsibility is untraceable when using AI; there is not way to determine who authorized what if an AI agent is acting on your behalf. In addition, current frameworks don’t ask whether an AI agent performed a task safely or whether it caused harm, only that the task was completed. Finally, agentic AI builds personal profiles that may include data more sensitive than an individual wants by accumulating information on patterns of behavior, preferences, and inferences.

Despite these challenges, agentic AI is not a technology to be feared or deferred, the SCSP experts emphasize. Institutions that prioritize understanding, shaping, and governing agentic AI will determine their own competitive position, and also impact the character of the environment in which agentic AI operates globally.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more about how the United States should pursue effective governance of agentic AI.

(NewsUSA) - The United States remains a world leader in many areas of quantum information science, engineering, and technology (QISET), but without additional government investment, the U.S. may fall behind China, according to a new report from experts at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in artificial intelligence.

As noted in the SCSP’s recent Quantum Tech Scorecard, China has committed more than double the government funding to QISET over the past seven years than the United States (approximately $15 billion vs. 6 billion).

Diverging Strengths: Networking vs Computing

China’s primary quantum advantage lies in quantum networking, which leverages quantum states to enable more secure communications and enhance network resilience. 

Quantum networking has been a long-term strategic priority for the Chinese government and, as a result, China has deployed the networking infrastructure at scale by mobilizing government resources, setting national standards, and executing sustained long-term plans, according to the SCSP’s Quantum Tech Scorecard. By contrast, the U.S. approach is decentralized and market-driven, leaving it exposed to inconsistent funding from annual budget cycles.

However, in quantum computing, the United States still maintains a lead over China, given the support from private companies, universities, and capital markets. American platforms continue to dominate global quantum developer workflows, according to SCSP. For instance, data from December 2025 shows more than 450,000 downloads of IBM’s Qiskit compared to approximately 4,000 for China’s comparable software development kit (SDK). “In addition, between 39 and 73 quantum computers have been deployed by U.S. entities, versus an estimated 15 to 18 in China,” according to SCSP experts.

Closing the Lab-to-Deployment Gap

Looking ahead, the U.S. has made a $2 billion investment that targets a key area of quantum technology competition: the transition from laboratory results to deployed, operational systems. However, the National Quantum Initiative Act—the federal government’s primary framework for coordinating quantum activities—is scheduled to end in 2029, on the heels of several key provisions that expired in 2023, while China’s financial commitments to QISET are rooted in long-term plans.

Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize the initiative and revise its mandate. The Act would help boost American competitiveness in several ways:

-Modernizing federal quantum research programs.

-Coordinating across federal agencies across key federal agencies, including the addition of NASA as a formal quantum research partner.

-Supporting workforce development to meet growing quantum industry demands.

-Expanding cooperation with allies to maintain U.S. competitiveness.

The new U.S. government investment signals a commitment to retaining global leadership across all areas of quantum technology. However, “the final outcome of this competition will be determined not by which country produces the most impressive research results, but by which can produce operational quantum systems at scale, and sustain the will to do so over a decade-long horizon,” according to SCSP’s experts.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more about SCSP’s research, and find out more about how the U.S. and China compare at scorecared.scsp.ai.

(NewsUSA) - Quantum technology is poised to permeate all corners of the global economy by dramatically changing the way the world computes, transmits, and measures information when compared to current conventional methods.  As the technology evolves, the United States must keep an eye on the quantum ecosystem in China, and how the government’s top-down approach is likely to impact quantum research and development, according to experts at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI and other critical technologies.

The concept of quantum technology is relatively unfamiliar to those outside of the field. Simply put, quantum technology involves the physics of subatomic particles. Quantum technology is not new, but the hardware and software currently available allows for more widespread use. Potential applications include:

-Security. Quantum navigation systems, for example, could reduce current weak spots in GPS such as outages, cyberattacks, and atmospheric disruptions.

-Communications. Quantum networks could support more secure transfer of information.

- Computing. Quantum computing could accelerate scientific research or optimize supply chains by quickly finding the best solution among thousands of possibilities.

Quantum technology demands the support of an entire ecosystem, with supply chains for semiconductors, nanotechnology, and photonics, among other areas, and involves collaboration among technology companies, academic institutions, government research agencies, and related startups. Currently, China has an expansive and state-backed quantum ecosystem, according to SCSP experts. Information from Datenna, an intelligence platform designed to analyze primary data from China at scale, shows multiple state-affiliated telecom giants, with China Telecom at the center, that fund a network of quantum startups. “Many of these firms trace their origins to state laboratories or university research groups, where Beijing retains influence through funding, ownership, procurement, or institutional ties,” according to Dr. Damien Bérubé, a researcher in Emerging Technology Policy and Quantum Science.

In a recent SCSP newsletter, Bérubé highlighted how Datenna data helps estimate China’s quantum technology activities. According to the data, China is creating demand for quantum technology before the market can sustain itself, which means that state-backed customers and government subsidies are helping Chinese companies build themselves up before competing on the world stage. For example, the Chinese quantum firm Origin Quantum was supported by funding from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and is now preparing for an IPO with a valuation of approximately $1 billion, according to Datenna information.

The rise of Chinese quantum technology companies does not pose an immediate risk of replacing U.S. and allied firms in every high-end market, according to SCSP experts. Instead, Chinese suppliers that can survive on protected domestic demand will ultimately enter foreign markets at lower prices, they said.

“A network map of these contracts should therefore be read less as a list of isolated transactions and more as an industrial policy map: which buyers sustain certain suppliers, which sectors are receiving demand signals, and which firms are being positioned to scale,” the experts concluded.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more.

(NewsUSA) - Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to raise the standard of living, expand economic opportunities, and make America more competitive at a global level, but an honest assessment of how AI is currently reshaping labor and the economy is needed, according to experts at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

At the SCSP’s annual AI+Expo, a Task Force on AI and the Future of Work unveiled preliminary findings that can serve as a foundation for further development and inform discussions. The Task Force, a joint effort between SCSP and Nvidia, identified ten aspects of AI’s current and potential impact on work and the economy.

-Rapid advancement. AI is distinct from most prior general-purpose technologies because it extends into certain types of cognitive work by impacting the foundational skills by which tasks are performed.

-Unpredictable transition. Although AI has already shown the potential to simultaneously expand human work and eliminate or transform other jobs, disruption and complications are to be expected during transitions.

-Restructured data collection. New data collection and analytics will be needed to assess the changing skill sets and hiring patterns in the workforce now and in the future.

-Task level impact. Workers need to understand how AI may automate or augment key tasks, and how roles may be reconfigured even without changes in job titles or employment levels.

-Entry level labor. Although the long-term impact on entry-level jobs remains unclear, the increased use of AI for these jobs may affect the traditional pipeline of talent and established pathways for career advancement in certain industries.

-Variable adoption. The degree to which AI is adopted by different sectors and organizations will vary based on several factors including incentives, workflows, and institutional constraints. Therefore, use of AI in certain areas is not inevitable, and may not be consistent.

-Shifting skills. The types of training and roles that will have enduring value in an AI-drive economy include not only new digital and technical skills, but also the enduring human traits of critical thinking, leadership, and adaptability. Additionally, skilled labor is needed for the construction of data centers and other facilities to support AI infrastructure.

-Training shortfalls. Education must be reimagined from a front-loaded learning system to a more flexible model that uses AI as a training tool to hone foundational capabilities and adaptable domain-specific skills.

-Expanding access. AI can be deployed widely to improve worker performance by expanding access to high-productivity tools. The outcomes depend on how AI is used, who benefits from the increased productivity, and how quickly workers can adapt their skill sets and jobs.

-Unifying national action. Ultimately, the speed, scale, and complexity of AI require coordination across institutions—government, industry, and educational—to manage the transition by aligning incentives and investing in workforce development to ensure that the benefits of AI can be broadly shared. “The window for proactive intervention is open,” the authors concluded.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more.

(NewsUSA) - As self-driving vehicles continue to extend their reach onto the roads, the United States is at risk of losing its leadership in this key area, according to a new report from the Special Competitive Studies Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

Specifically, scaling of AVs will affect the development of autonomous systems with other industrial applications including industrial robotics, smart infrastructure, and dual-use military systems, and components and cars are increasingly sourced from China, according to the report.

The SCSP’s Tech Scorecard Series, which evaluates national competitiveness across five categories, broke down the current status of the AV industry and where countries stand in the latest report, “The Autonomous Vehicle Crossroads,” with the following results:

Innovation Leadership. In terms of AV, the United States maintains dominance in this area, with cars that set the global gold standard for safety and reliability. The U.S. also maintains a lead in software development, especially in the areas of vision-language-action (VLA) models.

Industrial Capacity. Based on recent data, China dominates the physical layer of AV by maintaining complete control of both the supply chain components and vehicle manufacturing capacity. China also controls approximately 90% of the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing technology used in autonomous vehicles.

Market Ecosystem. The U.S. and China are essentially tied in terms of global funding for AV. Although the U.S. AV industry maintains the largest share, China’s aggressive approach to globalization has fueled growth with mass deployment.

Talent Pipeline. China currently produces significantly more engineering graduates with AV-relevant skills, and is integrating more intelligent vehicle curricula into its university system. The U.S. cannot currently match this focused pipeline and struggles to compete for a limited pool of skilled engineers.

National Leverage. China’s established state support for the AV industry and coordinated regulatory frameworks have promoted faster deployment of AV at scale compared to the U.S., where regulations remain a patchwork, with inconsistent testing and development among states.

To read the full report and take a deeper dive into the U.S.-China strategic competition in autonomous vehicles, visit scsp.ai.

(NewsUSA) - Nonprofit organizations have a new opportunity to leverage their data and optimize their profits, thanks to a new platform.

SimioAccelerate, introduced in the spring of 2026, was developed by Moore, a leading marketing, data, and fundraising management company, in collaboration with Microsoft. The platform uses signals on proprietary giving collected through SimioCloud, a Moore company.

SimioAccelerate is an AI-powered DaaS fundraising platform designed to accelerate nonprofit growth using proprietary giving signals from SimioCloud. The platform harnesses the power of AI, as AI agents orchestrate, automate and execute the entire process of effective fundraising. Nonprofit organizations provide first-party data to connect with SimioCloud. The platform uses proprietary predictive models to deliver targeted donor insights.

SimioAccelerate then picks up the ball, and translates the information into actionable intelligence that can be used to activate fundraising campaigns. AI-generated campaigns are created with the nonprofits' branding, content, and messaging. Execution is then initiated with email, call scripts, direct mail, and other addressable channels, delivering increased support tailored to a nonprofit’s specific mission.

“Fundraising is entering a new era where data and AI will fundamentally change how generosity is discovered and activated,” said Gretchen Littlefield, CEO of Moore. “SimioAccelerate brings all nonprofits a level of intelligence that has historically only been available to the largest enterprises,” she explained.

SimioCloud has been shown to increase response rates by up to 85%, as well as doubling the number of major donors and increasing average gift amounts by 50% for enterprise clients. The unique data foundation of SimioCloud enables insights beyond what can be achieved through large language models alone, according to experts at the company.

“Technology can help accelerate the incredible work that nonprofit organizations do every day by helping them reach more people, enhance their operations, and build on the impact they are already making in their communities,” said Harpreet Girn, vice president, global scale, Microsoft Elevate, at Microsoft Corp. “Through our collaboration with Moore, SimioAccelerate brings together the scale of Microsoft Azure, the unique data of SimioCloud, and the power of AI to the nonprofit sector, helping these organizations unlock new insights to accelerate their missions,” Girn said.

“SimioAccelerate gives nonprofit organizations the ability to see new opportunities by combining Microsoft’s global cloud and AI capabilities with SimioCloud’s proprietary giving data. This unlocks new giving to accelerate their missions,” Littlefield added.

SimioAccelerate’s free platform is available now. For more information on the product, go to wearemoore.com/simioaccelerate.

(NewsUSA) - Artificial intelligence is likely to have a greater impact on the military’s wartime operations than on peacetime tasks, according to a new report from the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

The new report mapped 131 Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) to their closest civilian equivalents to assess the impact of AI on army personnel. Although the sample size was small and based on private sector task classification, the data provide a foundation for further study of AI in the military, the authors wrote.

“AI won’t replace the Army’s people, but it will transform how they work,” the experts emphasized.

Common AI tasks such as gathering information and identifying objects can take on life-or-death importance in a wartime setting, when actions may be simpler and more structured, thus suited to AI, according to the report. For example, infantry officers in peacetime settings currently have approximately 25% of their work affected by AI, mainly related to administrative tasks. By contrast, AI’s wartime applications, estimated at about a third of activity (33%) for infantry include situational awareness, analyzing data, gathering information, and targeted objects or events.

Based on the report, SCSP experts offered four policy priorities to help the U.S. prepare to optimize an AI-enabled military in the future.

-Lethality. Save time by using AI on automation of administrative or routine tasks, and spend it on active training and readiness for warfighting.

-Commercial Alignment. Optimize interactions with private sector counterparts by using AI to align workflows for more efficient commercial research and development, and reserve custom development for unique wartime functions.

-Combat Investment. AI’s greatest potential military application may be in actual wartime use for information gathering, situational awareness, and targeting.

-Retention. Last, but not least, AI has potential to help address the problem of burnout in the military. Company commanders work more than 12 hours a day. Using AI for routine administrative tasks “could transform quality of life for junior officers and their families; a strategic retention tool,” the experts concluded.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more.

(NewsUSA) - Next-generation robotics and advanced manufacturing are key to preserving American leadership in technology and AI, but the United States has fallen behind China in this essential arena, according to a new report from the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

In the report, The Robot Deficit: Diagnosing the U.S.-China Competition in Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing, SCSP outlines how the competition for leadership in the robotics space has shifted as China has rapidly accelerated its activity in this space.

Attention to robotics is essential as the United States strives to improve its domestic manufacturing capacity, according to SCSP experts. Humans simply can’t manufacture the leading-edge products that will support dominance in technology, such as semiconductors and quantum devices, at the necessary scale. “In these domains, the ability to automate is synonymous with the ability to produce,” the experts noted in their new report.

Although the United States maintains a lead in cutting-edge innovation leadership and capabilities regarding software prowess, it has fallen short on developing the robotic automatic necessary to manufacture the components of technology—the semiconductors and quantum devices that can’t be manufactured at scale by humans.

According to the report, the U.S. needs to address four key areas:

Industrial Capacity. The U.S. currently trails China in manufacturing scale, supply chains, and raw materials. The U.S. reliance on imported components is a potential disadvantage to building automation tools in the event of a trade disruption or conflict.

Market Ecosystem. In 2024, China accounted for 54% of all global industrial robot installations. By contrast, the U.S. dominates venture capital funding but favors high-margin software over physical hardware. Changes are needed to expand industrial scaling.

Talent Pipeline. The good news: The United States attracts the top 1% of global elite researchers. However, experts predict that more than 2 million manufacturing jobs in will go unfilled, leaving a critical structural labor gap. China is working to reverse the brain drain and keep talent at home, while also launching significant academic programs in robotics.

National Leverage. Robotics in the United States remains highly fragmented because of a combination of bureaucratic bottlenecks and the lack of a comprehensive national plan.

Potential solutions to the deficit in robotics involve the government and industry working together, with measures including tax incentives for robotics, federally funded programs, and a dedicated government office to prioritize robotics and advanced manufacturing. Whether these plans succeed remains to be seen.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more.

The need for robotics manufacturing capacity is a strategic asset that the United States needs to rebuild, yet structural bottlenecks make such an objective unsustainable with current infrastructure.

(NewsUSA) - Increasing and upgrading the use of technology in government is essential, but not easy, and it takes more than money, according to Sri Ramaswamy, the Chief Innovation Officer for the NobleReach Foundation, a nonprofit organization that connects top tech talent with government needs. “It takes people, people who understand technology and how it can be applied to create efficiencies, improve service, and upgrade national security,” Mr. Ramaswamy said in a podcast for the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a nonprofit and nonpartisan initiative with a goal of making recommendations to strengthen America's long-term competitiveness in AI.

The role of technology in government is threefold, said Mr. Ramaswamy.

-Creating new products and services. For example, new technology allows for new ways to treat cancer, or to fight wars.

-Creating new ways of functioning. For example, technology improves efficiency, so any organization, whether it is the government, a company, or a university, can do their jobs better.

-Adapting to the spillover effects of emerging technology. For example, when any technology makes a leap from an experimental stage to the real world, there is a learning curve that is not captured by any one organization, but spills into the economy.

To take advantage of these technologies, the government must tap into pipelines of the best and brightest tech talent and inspire them to get involved and put their expertise to use, Mr. Ramaswamy said.

To help fill the need for top tech talent, NobleReach has created the NobleReach Scholars Program, which recruits engineering and computer science graduates to enter public service for short-term, high-impact stints. This program also can help create “dual citizens,” who can move fluidly between the public and private sectors to maintain America's technological edge, Mr. Ramaswamy explained.

The NobleReach Scholars’ Program is aimed at bringing in up-and-coming tech talent into government work on a shorter-term basis at the start of their careers, without the pressure of a long-term commitment to government work. They can put their technical skills to good use for a year or two and get experience addressing real and serious problems that our government needs to solve to stay competitive.

“Work in the agencies, work with the people who are trying to tackle these problems, learn from them, see what you can contribute, and then you can get out and do whatever you want in your career,” Mr. Ramaswamy emphasized. “Hopefully the service that spirit will stay with you and you'll find more opportunities to serve down the road. That's the spirit of the Scholars Program,” he said.

Visit scsp.ai to learn more about bridging the tech talent gap and other strategies to help improve American security and competitiveness.

(NewsUSA) - For years, digital marketing strategy revolved around a simple objective: rank high in search results and attract clicks to your website. But a quiet shift in search behavior is changing that equation.

A growing percentage of online searches now end without a click. Known as “zero-click searches,” these queries are answered directly on the search results page through featured snippets, local map listings, knowledge panels, and quick-answer boxes. While convenient for users, the trend is forcing businesses to rethink how they approach visibility online.

According to analysts at iLocal, zero-click searches are becoming a defining factor in how customers discover local businesses — especially in service industries where users want immediate answers.

What Zero-Click Searches Look Like

A zero-click search occurs when a user gets the information they need directly from the search results page without visiting a website.

Examples include:

• A homeowner searching for “emergency plumber near me” and calling a business directly from the local map listing
   
• A user checking business hours from a knowledge panel
   
• A quick answer appearing at the top of results for a question like “how long does roof replacement take”
   

In each case, the search engine delivers the information before the user ever reaches a company’s website.

While this may seem like a loss of traffic, it actually reflects a deeper shift in how digital discovery works.

Visibility Now Happens Before the Click

Businesses used to think of search results as a gateway to their website. Today, the search results page itself has become a critical part of a company’s digital presence.

Listings in the local map pack, review ratings, photos, and business details often form the customer’s first impression. In many cases, they also determine whether a user makes contact immediately.

For service businesses, that contact may happen through a phone call directly from the search listing — bypassing the website entirely.

This means that a company’s visibility strategy must extend beyond website rankings alone.

The Importance of Structured Information

Search engines rely on structured data and clearly organized information to generate quick answers and business summaries. Companies that maintain accurate listings, structured service descriptions, and consistent contact information are more likely to appear in these enhanced search features.

For local businesses, this often includes:

• Fully optimized business profiles
   
• Consistent name, address, and phone number data across platforms
   
• Structured website content that clearly explains services
   
• Customer reviews and updated business details
   

These elements help search engines confidently display a business in quick-answer results.

Traffic Is No Longer the Only Metric

As zero-click searches grow, businesses are beginning to shift how they measure digital success. Instead of focusing solely on website visits, many are evaluating visibility metrics such as calls from search listings, direction requests, and map interactions.

In other words, engagement may occur before the user ever lands on the website.

For companies that depend on inbound inquiries, this shift requires new tracking methods and a broader view of digital performance.

Adapting to the New Search Landscape

The rise of zero-click searches doesn’t mean websites are becoming irrelevant. In fact, they remain critical for credibility, detailed information, and conversion.

However, businesses must now recognize that discovery often happens earlier in the search process. The companies that succeed are those that treat the entire search ecosystem — not just their website — as part of their customer journey.

In a digital environment designed for instant answers, visibility isn’t just about attracting clicks anymore.

It’s about being the answer users see first.

To learn more, visit https://ilocal.net