Our proposal has three components: The first is a public data pool that would make data accessible to registered users. Local, state and federal governments have sizable data resources that would seed this digital commons. Users would be verified to block foreign governments, hackers and others with ill motives from access, and users would be prevented from using the data to engage in racial or other forms of discrimination and for microtargeted advertising.

Some of the data may be very sensitive, and access to those resources would be highly regulated. We can imagine a variety of ways that regulation and technology together could protect privacy and still foster innovation: Data could be anonymized at the source; the commons could have an interface that allowed users to derive insight from the data set, while leaving the underlying information inaccessible; less sensitive data, like weather information, could be made available in a format optimized for training A.I. What’s more, methods for safely sharing A.I. models without disclosing the underlying data are being developed today and could enable users of the data commons to collaborate on public-interest A.I. services. The federal government should also invest in researching new and better ways to protect privacy and prevent misuse.

Second, a public option for artificial intelligence would include a significant increase in research and development spending. Proponents of big tech celebrate private-sector research and are right to do so. But big tech companies, like all companies, have an incentive to fund research that will support their bottom line, and the profit motive doesn’t always mean a focus on the most important problems.

For generations, government R&D spending has been one of the central engines of economic growth and technological progress in America. Yet China is projected to spend far more than the United States on A.I. research over the next decade. A sizable increase in research funding for companies, governments and nonprofits developing public-interest technologies would help expand the types of research taking place and give scientists and engineers the option to do groundbreaking work on a broader range of problems.

Third, much of government’s A.I. work takes place in the military sector and is applied to national security problems. But health care, transportation, energy and other areas could also benefit significantly from A.I. The federal government should expand its A.I. procurement across all of these sectors as an opportunity to improve public services for all Americans. In addition, the government should ensure that its use of algorithms meets the highest ethical standards.