AI Reports · MIT FutureTech · 2026-10-17 · Blog / commentary
The U.S. Launches a Peace Corps for AI to Compete With China The Trump administration hopes to enlist the U.S. tech industry in its AI race. March 2, 2026
The Trump administration hopes to enlist the U.S. tech industry in its AI race, but there are fears that the Tech Corps program may not catch on abroad. Meicen Sun, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MIT affiliate, notes that China has built a large customer base in emerging markets over more than a decade, gaining local connections, business ties and consumer trust. She describes these hard-to-quantify advantages as social and political capital that doesn't show up in the books.