Three ships every two days—that’s what America built during World War II, Liberty Ships rolling off production lines to carry the weight of a nation at war.
Today, the United States manages just five commercial vessels a year, while China’s shipyards churn out more than the rest of the world combined.
“Does this sound like a regime that will hesitate to use AI or any other technology to advance their interests and undercut ours?” Vice President JD Vance asked, his voice firm and direct, cutting through the stillness.
The question wasn’t meant to linger—it demanded an answer, and the implication was stark: America is losing ground, fast.
This was no academic exercise. Vance laid bare a nation that has traded its industrial might for the fleeting gains of cheap labor, a dependency he labeled “a drug too many American firms got addicted to.”
Speaking with unflinching clarity, he traced 40 years of policy failures: globalization’s false promise that design could thrive without manufacturing, regulations that smothered innovation, taxes that penalized builders.
“We got lazy,” he said, the words landing with blunt force. But he didn’t stop at critique—he offered a lifeline, a vision of an America revitalized by technology that empowers workers, not replaces them.
JD Vance’s Urgent Call to Revive American Industry at the Dynamism Summit
He shared a pointed memory from his tech days: a Silicon Valley dinner where a prominent CEO dismissed job losses, suggesting “fully immersive gaming” could fill the void of purpose.
“My wife texted me under the table: ‘We have to get out of here. These people are crazy,’” Vance recounted, drawing a ripple of recognition from his audience. The anecdote wasn’t just a jab—it was a warning against a future where innovation leaves workers adrift.
“Populists see alienation,” he said. “Tech optimists see overregulation. Both have been let down—not just by the last administration, but by decades of missteps.”
Vance positioned himself as a bridge between these camps, arguing that technology, wielded wisely, can unite them. He pointed to the ATM, feared in the 1970s as a job-killer, which instead boosted bank tellers’ productivity and pay.
AI, he insisted, could follow suit. “Innovation strengthens our workforce,” he said, grounding his case in history and practicality.
He invoked Pope John Paul II to underscore a deeper conviction: technology should enhance human dignity, not erode it—a rare moral thread in a policy-heavy address.
His solution was concrete and unapologetic: a Trump administration plan to cut taxes, slash regulations, and prioritize energy abundance to fuel a manufacturing comeback.
He cited early results—9,000 new auto jobs, $1.7 trillion in investments, inflation at its lowest since April 2021—and outlined a broader strategy: tariffs to protect industries, a border crackdown to favor American workers, tax breaks to keep innovation domestic.
“We’re not chasing cheap labor,” he emphasized. “We’re building here, in the United States.”
JD Vance’s Urgent Call to Revive American Industry at the Dynamism Summit. (Photo Internet reproduction)
We Should Dominate These Technologies
The setting emerged midway through: the third American Dynamism Summit, held March 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C., hosted by Andreessen Horowitz at the Waldorf Astoria.
The audience—tech founders, defense innovators, energy leaders—heard Vance call them the backbone of this revival.
“You’re not just running businesses,” he said, his tone earnest. “You’re driving an American industrial resurgence, creating a society I’d raise my kids in.” The statement carried weight, a personal stake in a national fight.
For the global readership, Vance’s speech doubled as a challenge. China’s shipbuilding dominance loomed as a warning, while his recent Paris summit remarks—urging nations to embrace AI—reverberated here.
“We should dominate these technologies,” he said, signaling an America intent on reclaiming its edge. Allies face a choice: align with this vision or risk falling behind. Rivals, particularly Beijing, received an implicit message: the U.S. is waking up.
As the session closed, Vance’s words hung in the air—an urgent, compelling case for a nation at a tipping point. This wasn’t about nostalgia; it was about survival.
Whether America can deliver on his promise remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the Vice President has issued a wake-up call the world can’t ignore.
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