Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith joined Kristen Ellis from the US Department of Energy and futurist Jamie Metzl on April 14 for a panel discussion titled “The Global Race: AI as the Engine of American Strategic Advantage.” The event, part of Inauguration Week and the first day of the SUNY AI Symposium at Stony Brook, was moderated by Lav Varshney, director of the AI Innovation Institute at Stony Brook.
The discussion focused on how artificial intelligence could reshape national competitiveness and influence global power structures. Panelists addressed both opportunities and challenges presented by rapid advances in AI technology.
Goldsmith said that public fascination with AI comes from its apparent humanity. “You talk to it and it talks back to you and it sounds human,” she said. “So people think, it’s human, it’s talking to me… But it isn’t human.” She added, “What will AI be able to do that encroaches on human intelligence? I think that’s a philosophical question that we don’t have the answer to.”
Ellis highlighted the Department of Energy’s Genesis mission—a national effort aimed at creating a powerful AI-driven scientific platform intended to produce 100,000 AI-ready scientists and double American research productivity within ten years. She described this initiative as requiring a “Manhattan Project-level” government effort: “And this isn’t just for computer science, this is going to impact every realm of science into the future as we think about global competitiveness.” Ellis also noted successful partnerships across industry, universities, and philanthropy.
Metzl cautioned against overhyping artificial general intelligence (AGI), emphasizing continued reliance on human input: “If we’re saying AGI means machines being able to do some things better than humans, we’re hundreds of years past that already,” he said. He argued for discussions centered not only around technology but also values, governance, regulation, and ecosystem management.
All three speakers agreed that while AI could transform scientific research and address pressing societal challenges worldwide, it cannot replace uniquely human qualities such as creativity or vision. Goldsmith concluded by stressing ethical considerations: “Creativity, vision, instinct, perspective, collaboration, emotion and compassion are truly unique aspects of human intelligence. These are things that AI just cannot do… How we take this powerful tool and merge it with what’s uniquely human is part of what this symposium is about.”
