Ted Johnson

Great article by Jennifer Ewbank. Worth a read. "This requires not just defensive measures to protect our digital infrastructure and intellectual property but also proactive strategies to maintain a competitive edge in technological innovation. It involves limiting the CCP’s access to key technologies, capital, and data, while advancing our own economic strength and bolstering military deterrence." Recommend clicking one notch deeper into advancing our economic strength and bolstering our military deterrence: To win, the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community must spend more than 1% on software. It's our comparative advantage. The U.S. is, hands down, the best in the world at software. Imagine the deterrent value of spending 1% of our defense budget on software to deter China. It's the minimal requirement to combat the Digital Dragon.

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I was thrilled to learn that the U.S. Department of State plans to establish three Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (#FFRDCs): public-private partnerships that conduct innovative R&D for their USG sponsors on topics that cannot be effectively met by the government or the private sector alone. FFRDCs are required to have a long-term strategic relationship with the agency that supports them, allowing the FFRDC to recruit and retain scientific and technical expertise, conduct R&D to meet the needs of the sponsoring agency; and offer independent scientific and technical advice. From my days as an FSO at State and as a consultant on national security and technology for the past five years, I’ve strongly advocated for State to join its Executive Branch brethren – Commerce, NIST, DOD, NSA, Energy, HHS, DHS, NIH, Treasury, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, NASA, NSF, the Social Security Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – in establishing an FFRDC. This was a recommendation I encouraged the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence to include in its 2021 Final Report to the White House and Congress, so it’s heartening to see State finally proceed.  Better late than never! State wants to create three FFRDCs to conduct R&D on: (1) Operational support for acquisition planning and development for new technologies; and operational analysis to identify institutional and capability gaps and how to fill them; (2) Emerging threats, concept exploration, and experimentation and evaluation, developing new concepts, models, prototypes, and proof-of-concept demonstrations, and test-beds, and (3) #IT and #Cyber Operations. I hope this important step, when implemented, will facilitate two more steps that State should take to be a global leader on technology for diplomacy for the rest of the 21st century: (1) Establish an in-house “Technology for Diplomacy” R&D lab that builds off of the FFRDC's work, to conduct internal R&D, prototyping, scaling, and deploying of #AI and other emerging technologies that empower American diplomats, and (2) Fund "Small Business Innovation Research" (#SBIR) Grants to leverage the innovative and entrepreneurial talents of U.S. small technology companies to offer their own innovative tech ideas to bolster US diplomacy and build a private sector constituency for the State Department in America’s vibrant tech startup ecosystems. All of this in due time. The immediate next step is for innovation stakeholders (like FedTech) to give feedback on the proposed scope of the work to be performed by the FFRDCs and on already-existing capabilities in these areas that the Department should consider. Exciting to see State make a long-term commitment to #innovation #technology #entrepreneurism #startups #diplomacy #natsec #leadership.

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Unrestrained presidential tariff authority is the biggest threat to American competitivness, national security, innovaiton and growth. From my tech policy perspective: I've mentioned this problem so many times to people in tech and Silicon Valley, who seem to consistently brush tariffs off assuming any new tariff would fail given Congress' opposition. This isn't true. Tariffs can be enacted unilaterally by the president, a truly awesome presidential power that if abused, could crumble our economy overnight. Lets be real: AI, silicon valley, and cutting edge science can all quickly turn into 'nice to haves' if Americans can't afford food, clothes, and basic necessities. Ten percent tariffs would drive massive cost increases, flash freezing capital and discretionary spending. Silicon Valley would crumble, as would the rest of the economy. We need to stop sleep walking towards this policy failure and give such tariff proposals, and the underlying authorities, the serious treatment they demand. Thank you so much Clark Packard and Scott Lincicome. https//

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This recent letter from senators urging the Biden administration to create a White House Task Force for Global Events highlights a critical need—ensuring America is ready to host and participate on the global stage. As we prepare for significant international events in the coming years, the collaboration between government and private sectors will be more important than ever. By working together, we can ensure that the U.S. not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the global community, showcasing our nation’s strengths in diplomacy, security, and hospitality while bringing significant economic benefit to numerous communities. #BoozAllen, #FIFA, #WorldCup2026, #LAOlympics2028

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