Bessent Says Tech Firms Fail to Sell AI Value

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized tech companies for poorly explaining artificial intelligence's benefits to Americans at a Heritage Foundation event.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Bessent Says Tech Firms Fail to Sell AI Value

Live Poll

Do you think AI will create more jobs than it eliminates?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tech companies have done a horrendous job explaining AI's value to Americans, speaking Thursday at The Heritage Foundation's Forum in Oxon Hill, Maryland. He argued that strong American AI models are the best protection against Chinese AI models.

Why it matters

Bessent's remarks frame AI competition with China as a national security and economic issue, tying public perception of AI to America's position in the global race. His comments signal that the administration views clearer public messaging from the industry as part of the country's strategy.

Bessent cited that 25% of U.S. jobs did not exist in 2000 and described Chinese models as very cheap and lacking safety guardrails, though no technical specifications or benchmarks were provided. The remarks offered no measured performance data comparing American and Chinese AI systems.

The players

Scott Bessent

The U.S. Treasury Secretary, who serves as the nation's chief financial official and a key economic adviser to the president.

The Heritage Foundation

A Washington, D.C.-based conservative public policy think tank that hosts policy forums and publishes research on federal issues.

The details

Bessent said Chinese companies are copying American models through industrial-scale distillation and that companies using AI are hiring more people. He referred to AI as 'super intelligence,' a term coined by President Donald Trump, and predicted that any major AI-related incident worldwide would be blamed on Chinese technology.

Thursday: Bessent speaks at The Heritage Foundation's Forum conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland (Nov. 12, 2026)
Midterm elections (2026): Democrats win control of the House and Senate

Tech Race

Bessent's argument places American AI leadership within the broader U.S.-China technology rivalry, where Washington has framed domestic AI models as a strategic asset. His call for stronger public messaging extends that competitive framing to how the industry communicates with voters.

Bessent's remarks point to the debate over whether AI will create or eliminate jobs, a question that affects workers and job seekers directly. He expressed confidence that AI will create jobs, though the source offers no specific policy changes that would alter day-to-day conditions for consumers.

The takeaway

Bessent's comments suggest that how AI is explained to the public may matter as much as how it is built. Readers should watch whether industry messaging on jobs and safety shifts as the U.S.-China AI competition continues.