Hodan Omaar

The American Science Acceleration Project (ASAP) is a timely effort to modernize the infrastructure that powers U.S. research. By improving how science is organized, resourced, and executed, ASAP can help unlock faster breakthroughs across a range of disciplines.

Germany’s new coalition government has created a central digital ministry to finally accelerate its slow-moving AI agenda, aiming to modernize public services and support AI innovation. But success hinges on whether it prioritizes practical reform over symbolic sovereignty, especially amid EU regulations and global competition.

The Center for Data Innovation urges the U.S. to refocus its federal AI R&D strategy on unlocking AI’s full potential by emphasizing deployment over harm prevention, linking technical design to real-world performance outcomes, and investing in the generation of high-quality, representative data to drive innovation and public benefit.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memos aimed at accelerating AI adoption across the federal government. But that vision won’t materialize unless other parts of the administration stop pulling in opposite directions or failing to act altogether.

U.S. AI policy prioritizes training compute while overlooking inference—the compute needed to deploy models effectively. As AI progress shifts toward optimizing inference, policymakers must adapt by supporting global deployment, refining export controls, and promoting energy-efficient AI to maintain U.S. competitiveness.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin will decide on HB 2094, a flawed AI bill with inconsistent rules and unworkable enforcement. Signing it would add to a costly patchwork of state laws without improving outcomes.

The Center for Data Innovation outlined seven policy priorities we believe to be most critical for the AI Action Plan, along with specific actions the administration should take.

Decades of investment and world-class research have put the U.S. at the forefront, particularly in quantum computing, but a fragmented approach and limited focus on sensing and communication create strategic gaps. Collaboration with the ROK could help strengthen supply chains, accelerate commercialization, and bolster U.S. leadership in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has proposed regulations that would impose new requirements on businesses using automated decision-making technology.

The UK’s copyright system has long prioritized economic interests over creators’ control, allowing industries to learn from creative works without permission. Critics now opposing AI training have benefited from these same principles. A fair debate should acknowledge this precedent rather than selectively restricting AI.

DeepSeek’s breakthrough is a wake-up call that China’s AI capabilities are advancing faster than Western conventional wisdom has acknowledged.

The bill’s heavy-handed approach risks creating more problems than it solves, prioritizing bureaucratic hurdles over meaningful progress in fairness and accountability.

Hodan Omaar moderates a panel on on AI infrastructure needs at the USA AI Summit hosted by Forum Global.

Hodan Omaar speaks on AI regulation, safety and responsibility at a global level.

Watch now for a panel discussion by ITIF's Center for Data Innovation on what the rise of agentic AI means for innovation, competition, and policy, how prepared the United States is to keep pace, and what policy shifts might be needed to ensure consumers and businesses can successfully develop and deploy AI agents.

Hodan Omaar briefs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on US-ROK collaboration for quantum technologies.

Hodan Omaar speaks about China's AI innovation at a panel hosted by the National Press Foundation.

ITIF’s spring seminar course explores core emerging technologies and issues that are reshaping our world and, in the process, creating public policy challenges and opportunities. The course is open to congressional and federal staff only.

Watch now for a virtual panel discussion with technology policy experts who highlighted and critiqued the most counterproductive tech policies of the past year, and considered how the incoming administration and Congress can turn the page.

Hodan Omaar speaks about the economic potential of AI in the United States at a panel discussion hosted by Microsoft.

Watch now for a timely discussion by The Center for Data Innovation and The Asia Group on how AI governance is unfolding globally, the key tensions shaping global regulations, and what these developments mean in the United States, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond.

Hodan Omaar speaks at the Central European Initiative's panel event on EU competitiveness in Vienna.

Watch now for a panel discussion exploring how threats from AI voice cloning are likely to develop, what countermeasures exist, and actionable steps policymakers can take to address both national and international threats.

Hodan Omaar speaks at the 2024 State of the Net Conference on a panel about artificial intelligence and creativity in the arts.