Trump Has an AI Plan. Businesses Should Make Theirs

For much of history, nations that possessed a technological advantage were often more successful economically and geopolitically. Looking forward, it appears that the development and deployment of artificial intelligence, or AI, will determine where those advantages manifest in the 21st century.

The Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan addresses the role of AI in this global game and creates a necessary framework for the U.S. to establish and protect its advantage. I believe it provides a solid foundation of policy, security, and incentives, but its ultimate success is incumbent on the level of engagement from the private sector and the underlying talent infrastructure required to bring vision to reality.

As major beneficiaries of improvements in technology and productivity, companies have a responsibility to their employees and the wider economy to act as strong private partners to this plan and related efforts across both the public and private sectors. I believe businesses of all sizes can make a meaningful difference by ensuring that their workforces are primed to capitalize on this revolution in economic productivity.

Many companies are deploying AI tools at a rapid pace, while many employees lack the skills to use them effectively. We have seen this pattern before. The Industrial Revolution displaced workers who lacked mechanical skills. The digital transformation of the 1990s and 2000s left behind those without computer literacy. Each time, the workers and companies that adapted early came out ahead.

The AI Action Plan draws attention to this rapidly evolving dynamic and outlines a national strategy that prioritizes AI skills development in federal education and promotes coordination across sectors. Importantly, it provides a pathway for private sector engagement in AI workforce development to deliver benefits in talent retention, innovation capacity, and competitive advantage. In my experience, employees stay with companies that invest in their growth. Workers who receive AI training may be more likely to feel valued and see a future with their employer. Second, a workforce fluent in AI can identify new applications, improve processes, and drive creative solutions that were previously out of reach. These capabilities come from hands-on experience, not theory. Finally, companies that upskill their workers now will likely outpace competitors still relying on outdated methods. The market rewards early movers.

I have always believed that education should be borderless, cost-free, and focused on job-ready skills. WorldQuant University was created with these goals in mind, providing current and future professionals in the quant and tech fields with the next-generation technical skills they need to succeed in the future economy. Models like WQU are designed to scale exponentially and are capable of training millions of workers with nominal proportional increases in cost or resources. They can serve as a strong framework for plug-and-play solutions in AI-enabled workforce training, ensuring Americans are well-prepared for emerging opportunities. By integrating stackable credentials, experiential learning, open-source tools, and tighter feedback loops with industry participants, these models can create seamless pathways from education to employment, turning training into real career outcomes.

The window for a smooth transition is still open for many workers, but it is at risk of swiftly narrowing. I believe the AI Action Plan aptly describes this, noting that we are at the precipice of “an industrial revolution, an information revolution, and a renaissance – all at once.” Forward-looking engagement from and partnership with the private sector is crucial to ensuring the U.S. workforce leads the global AI economy. An investment made today will generate benefits for workers and employers alike in the future.

Igor Tulchinsky is CEO and Founder of WorldQuant.