Nothing says "we're losing the AI race" quite like a Fox News opinion piece calling for a new Monroe Doctrine to secure American technological dominance. Aaron Ginn's breathless manifesto reads like someone watched too many Cold War movies and decided what America really needs is more nationalism and fewer of those pesky global innovators who built Silicon Valley in the first place.
The piece perfectly encapsulates the self-defeating logic of American tech nationalism: let's protect our AI supremacy by systematically alienating the talent that created it. It's like trying to win a basketball game by benching your best players because they weren't born in your hometown.
The Brain Drain Reality Fox News Won't Acknowledge
Here's what Ginn's flag-waving manifesto conveniently ignores: the US is already experiencing a catastrophic AI talent brain drain, and nationalist policies are accelerating it. According to the 2025 State of AI Talent Report, the amount of talent leaving the US is now matching the amount moving in, with the trend heading toward future brain drain. The decline stems from three factors: cuts to federal science funding, reductions in hiring from big corporations, and—wait for it—"a pivot towards homegrown sovereign AI."
The numbers are brutal. Between 2010 and 2021, nearly 20,000 Chinese-born scientists left the United States, a trend that accelerated after 2018. These aren't second-string researchers—they include figures like neuroscientist Yan Ning, who left Princeton to lead the Shenzhen Medical Academy. Meanwhile, 65% of the top AI companies in the U.S. have immigrant founders or co-founders, and 70% of full-time graduate students in AI-related fields come from abroad.
China produces nearly half of the world's AI talent compared to the U.S., which accounts for just 18%. China has consistently ranked as the U.S.'s biggest and most important source of high-level international STEM workers. Ginn's solution? Make it harder for them to come here and easier for them to leave.
Ginn's first principle calls for "flooding the world with American AI hardware" while simultaneously advocating policies that would drive away the talent that designs, builds, and innovates that hardware. It's like trying to flood the world with Hollywood movies while banning actors from other countries.
The H-1B visa approval rates have already plummeted from 46.1% in fiscal year 2021 to just 14.6% in fiscal year 2024, with heightened scrutiny on Chinese applicants making it "much more challenging for Chinese nationals to be able to work in the U.S." The result? Tech companies are losing access to exactly the talent pool that made American AI leadership possible.
Meanwhile, countries like Canada, the UK, France, and Australia have adopted major immigration reforms to attract AI talent. Canada's new immigration policies quickly bring in skilled migrants and integrate graduates into the workforce. The UK is proposing similar changes to expedite the immigration process for technically skilled migrants. The US response? More walls, more scrutiny, more nationalism.
Ginn's second principle involves "re-anchoring the Western Hemisphere" to America's AI ecosystem. This sounds impressive until you realize that AI innovation doesn't respect geographical boundaries. Nearshoring manufacturing is one thing; nearshoring genius is quite another.
The suggestion that leaders like Nayib Bukele in El Salvador and Javier Milei in Argentina represent some kind of AI alliance opportunity is laughably naive. These countries lack the educational infrastructure, research institutions, and talent pipelines that make AI innovation possible. You can't just relocate Stanford and MIT to Central America because it fits your geopolitical map.
The real AI talent hubs are emerging in Singapore, Germany, and the UAE—countries that are benefiting from researchers disillusioned with both Washington and Beijing. The science world is becoming decentralized and more competitive, but Fox News wants to solve this by creating a hemisphere-based tech nationalism bubble.
The third principle acknowledges that Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are "the front lines of U.S.-China tech competition" while simultaneously advocating policies that would make collaboration with these countries more difficult. Export controls and security screenings that limit "friendly access" aren't just hampering adversaries—they're alienating allies.
The piece correctly identifies that Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are seeking deeper tech and trade ties with the U.S., then proposes exactly the kind of nationalist, America-first approach that would drive them toward Chinese alternatives. It's strategic incoherence dressed up as geopolitical wisdom.
What Fox News fundamentally misunderstands is that AI innovation thrives on diversity, collaboration, and open exchange of ideas. More than half of leading AI companies in the United States were founded or co-founded by immigrants or their children. Indian nationals have played a major role, with around 65% of top US AI companies tracing some leadership to the Indian diaspora.
The nationalist approach Ginn advocates would systematically dismantle this ecosystem. When you make it harder for global talent to participate in American innovation, you don't get more American innovation—you get less innovation, period. The brightest minds will simply go elsewhere.
The most maddening aspect of this Fox News fantasy is how it would guarantee the very outcome it claims to prevent. By alienating global talent, restricting collaboration, and prioritizing flag-waving over functionality, American tech nationalism would hand China exactly what they want: a US that voluntarily removes itself from global competition.
China is already reaping benefits from US-educated talent returning home, with returnees driving progress in key innovation sectors. Chinese universities are climbing in global rankings. The last thing Beijing fears is American isolationism—they're counting on it.
For marketing and growth professionals, the implications are clear: nationalist tech policies would create massive competitive disadvantages. Companies would lose access to global talent, face higher development costs, and watch as innovation centers shift to more open markets.
The future belongs to organizations that can attract and retain global talent, not those constrained by geographical nationalism. While Fox News dreams of AI Monroe Doctrines, smart companies are building diverse, international teams that can compete in a global marketplace.
The choice is simple: embrace global talent and maintain technological leadership, or wave flags while handing the future to competitors who understand that innovation knows no borders.
Ready for reality-based AI strategy instead of nationalist fantasy? Winsome Marketing's growth experts understand how global talent drives innovation and competitive advantage. We'll help you navigate the real world, not the Fox News version.