Identification and Development of AI Talent in the United States

 

Maeve Myers

July 15, 2026

 

Over the course of two months, the National Security Policy Center’s 2026 summer intern cohort conducted research on critical national security issues on behalf of UVA’s National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI). The group’s work culminated in individual white papers on topics approved by NSDPI supervisors. Undergraduate researcher Maeve Myers’ white paper, “Identification and Development of AI Talent in the United States,” examines key challenges facing the U.S. as it seeks to build and retain its AI talent pool while providing possible policy solutions.

 

DecorativeExecutive Summary

Education and retention of AI talent is critical for the United States to maintain dominance in AI development and deployment. While the US leads the AI race in compute and commercial support, several forecasters place the US behind India and China in AI talent. Restrictions on immigration reduces the talent pool available to American businesses and universities and creates a climate of uncertainty that may dissuade top researchers. As “AI work” shifts from coding to deep learning, traditional degree pathways may leave graduates without the skills needed by frontier labs and companies.

To fill current gaps and create the AI talent of the future, federal policy should:

• Create AI-specific immigration pathways

• Fund interdisciplinary programming at universities across the US

 

Research Placemat:

Identification and Development of AI Talent in the United States

 

White Paper:

Identification and Development of AI Talent in the United States