Remarks by Director Michael Kratsios at the India AI Impact Summit

Director Michael Kratsios of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy delivered remarks at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, advocating for a shift in the global AI conversation from fear to opportunity. He asserted that America is the birthplace of AI and a leader in the field, with President Trump having recommitted the nation to AI leadership by repealing the previous administration's "diffusion framework" and releasing America's AI Action Plan, focused on Innovation, Infrastructure, and International Partnerships. Kratsios highlighted the booming U.S. AI industry, its superior services and chips, and claimed that "the gold standard in AI is made in America."Kratsios criticized international forums for fostering fear around AI, proposing that AI governance should be local and tailored to specific national needs. He explicitly rejected global governance of AI, stating that it "cannot lead to a brighter future if it is subject to bureaucracies and centralized control." He urged nations to pursue "sovereign AI capability" through rapid adoption of the best available technology while developing their own, emphasizing that "strategic autonomy alongside rapid AI adoption is achievable, and it is a necessity for independent nations."To facilitate worldwide AI adoption, the Trump Administration announced a suite of support initiatives: a National Champions Initiative to integrate partner nation companies with the American AI stack, an AI Agent Standards Initiative for open and secure AI agent standards, new AI-focused programs from U.S. development finance institutions and a World Bank Fund to address financing obstacles for developing countries, and the launch of the Tech Corps (a 21st-century Peace Corps) to provide technical support for AI deployment in developing nations. Kratsios concluded by inviting international partners to join the U.S. in building a future of "prosperous collaboration and peaceful competition" through shared, localized, sovereign AI infrastructure, emphasizing that American AI aims to empower nations rather than impose global standards or vendor-lock-in.