Michael Kratsios, the White House science chief, argues the U.S. must overhaul its science infrastructure to harness AI and out-compete China. This echoes President Franklin D. Roosevelt's World War II-era approach, when Roosevelt tasked Vannevar Bush with reorganizing American science for the post-war order. Bush's 1945 report "Science: The Endless Frontier" became the blueprint for federal support of basic research, leading to the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and shaping the "American Century" triumphal attitude toward science and technology.

Today, Kratsios advocates for a similar transformation, but focused on emerging technologies and global competition with China. The current moment calls for a new "Endless Frontier" initiative that prioritizes AI development, quantum computing, and other strategic technologies to maintain American leadership in the 21st century.