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Reality Checking a Major National R&D Investment in AI Trustworthiness, Safety, and Security: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of a $10 Billion Bet on Increasing the Robustness of the United States’ AI Future

RAND | 2026-03-12 | tech

Topics: AI, China, Cybersecurity, Europe, Nuclear, Trade, United States

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English Summary

A RAND report uses break-even analysis to evaluate a hypothetical $10 billion U.S. government investment in AI trustworthiness R&D, concluding it can be justified across various plausible scenarios. The investment promises dual benefits: significantly reducing the risk of catastrophic AI incidents (estimated at $97.9 trillion in potential losses) and accelerating economic growth by fostering wider adoption of advanced AI, potentially leading to an average annual gain of $10.1 trillion. While acknowledging potential economic drag from stricter safety measures, the analysis indicates that even with these costs, a well-designed program can break even. Policymakers are urged to structure such R&D to ensure safety and innovation are complementary, viewing it as both an insurance policy and a strategic investment for technological leadership.

中文摘要

一份RAND報告運用盈虧平衡分析,評估美國政府對人工智慧(AI)可信度研發投入100億美元的假想投資,結論是該投資在各種合理情境下均可證明其合理性。這項投資承諾雙重效益:顯著降低災難性AI事件的風險(估計潛在損失達97.9兆美元),並透過促進先進AI的廣泛採用來加速經濟成長,潛在每年平均增長10.1兆美元。儘管報告承認更嚴格的安全措施可能帶來經濟阻力,但分析指出,即使考慮到這些成本,精心設計的計畫仍能達到盈虧平衡。報告敦促政策制定者應妥善規劃此類研發,以確保安全與創新相輔相成,將其視為保險政策,同時也是爭取技術領導地位的戰略投資。

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