AI and the Future of Workforce, Energy, and National Competitiveness: Penn Washington Staff Reflect on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Summit

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Leadership Summit on March 11, 2026 offered a useful opportunity to consider how questions of technology leadership increasingly cut across domestic and global policy. In this joint reflection, Nikki Hinshaw, Global Policy Programs Coordinator, and Sasha Nicholas, Domestic Policy Programs Coordinator, offer their respective perspectives on the summit and on the role the University of Pennsylvania is playing in bringing research, expertise, and interdisciplinary insight to these conversations.

Domestic Policy Perspective:

Sasha Nicholas, Domestic Policy Programs Coordinator, Penn Washington 
At the summit, we heard that AI’s payoff will depend on people, not just technology. Penn-affiliated research also calls attention to the human side of this story: experts emphasize reskilling and empowering domain specialists rather than fearing mass job losses. As Hugh Gamble, Vice President of Federal Affairs, Salesforce, put it during a panel, “AI is not going to take the job. Somebody who knows how to effectively use AI will save the job.” The remark reflects a growing recognition that AI is not only a technological shift, but also a workforce transition that will shape how institutions train, deploy, and support talent. The University of Pennsylvania’s interdisciplinary model is especially relevant here, as work across Penn’s schools continues to examine how emerging technologies shape labor, education, health, and public life. 

The summit also highlighted the growing connection between AI innovation and physical infrastructure, particularly compute and energy capacity. In remarks at the summit, Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick emphasized that “America is uniquely positioned to win this competition for leadership in AI…[and] AI and energy together—they’re different sides of the same coin.” That framing is especially relevant in Pennsylvania. Penn’s Kleinman Center notes that speculative utility forecasts for data centers could leave consumers with nearly $9 billion in excess costs. Pennsylvania’s energy and research resources are a potent advantage (as Senator McCormick observed), but making them count requires careful, data-driven analysis. Penn Washington will bring that analysis and expertise to bear and translate the University’s research into practical insight for policymakers. 

“AI is rapidly reshaping how institutions govern, innovate, and deliver services across society,” said Elizabeth Klein, Penn Washington’s Director of Domestic Policy Programs. “Our AI Initiative connects Penn’s pioneering research in data science and AI with the federal policy landscape to support the responsible deployment of advanced technologies across sectors.” 

Global Policy Perspective:

Nikki Hinshaw, Global Policy Programs Coordinator, Penn Washington 
The summit conversations also examined technology policy through the lens of U.S. competition with China and the challenge of defining and deploying the U.S. AI Tech Stack abroad. Senator McCormick emphasized that the United States’ ability to lead in AI “has a lot more to do with what we can do than what China does,” a point underscored by Kevin Frazer, a Professor at UT Austin Law. Referencing a recent Hoover Institution study, Frazer noted that many engineers behind DeepSeek – the CCP-linked LLM that shocked global markets last year – were trained and educated in China, again making the case for strengthening domestic capabilities in education, workforce development, and public-private partnerships to continue to lead internationally.  

Speakers also highlighted the scale of the challenge ahead: deploying the U.S. AI Tech Stack globally will require significant coordination with allies to ensure that technologies adopted worldwide adhere to democratic values. Qualcomm’s Head of U.S. AI Policy Andres Castrillon noted that countries and international companies are asking where they fit into the tech stack, and how questions like AI sovereignty will be addressed. These concerns echo themes raised at Perry World House’s recent event on international cooperation on AI, where United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill emphasized the need to shift from global competition to collaboration  – and the role that cross-sector stakeholders, including universities like Penn, can play in facilitating that engagement. 

“There is a near constant battle, playing out in public and in private, over the way in which the U.S. engages in the world around technology policy and the proliferation and use of its AI tech stack,” said Dan Schneiderman, Penn Washington’s Director of Global Policy Programs. “The very real and serious concerns about sharing our most advanced technology (and the need to protect it) must be balanced with building up partners who can contribute to the advancement of U.S. AI development, while simultaneously making those partners interoperable with us. Balancing these competing priorities will require a deft diplomatic touch.  Penn can help provide context and serve as a place of convening and discussion around these tensions and how to manage them.” 

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