SAN FRANCISCO — There is little doubt that the Defense Department needs help from Silicon Valley’s biggest companies as it pursues work on artificial intelligence. The question is whether the people who work at those companies are willing to cooperate.

On Thursday, Robert O. Work, a former deputy secretary of defense, announced that he is teaming up with the Center for a New American Security, an influential Washington think tank that specializes in national security, to create a task force of former government officials, academics and representatives from private industry. Their goal is to explore how the federal government should embrace A.I. technology and work better with big tech companies and other organizations.

There is a growing sense of urgency to the question of what the United States is doing in artificial intelligence. China has vowed to become the world’s leader in A.I. by 2030, committing billions of dollars to the effort. Like many other officials from government and industry, Mr. Work believes the United States risks falling behind.

“The question is, how should the United States respond to this challenge?” he said. “This is a Sputnik moment.”