House subcommittee hearing: witnesses warn trade-secret theft and misuse risk U.S. AI leadership, urge balanced transparency and stronger protections

The House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on trade secrets in the global AI competition, where lawmakers and expert witnesses warned that intellectual property theft, reverse engineering and misuse of AI services threaten U.S. competitiveness and national security.

The hearing focused on the tension between transparency and protecting proprietary model weights, datasets and training methods. "Whoever leads this agentic AI race is going to shape the rules of the future international order," said Dr. Benjamin Jensen, director of Future Labs and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, urging coordinated action to defend U.S. innovation.

Why it matters: Witnesses said poorly designed disclosure mandates or public repositories of sensitive information could hand strategic advantage to foreign adversaries, while inadequate cybersecurity, litigation funding loopholes and talent loss would further erode the U.S. position. At the same time, several witnesses argued that carefully scoped transparency — for example, independent audits, government-secured channels and capability testing — can be pursued without revealing trade secrets.

Key testimony and recommendations

- Trade secrets and the risk environment: Multiple witnesses described techniques they said have accelerated foreign models, including "knowledge…