Will Hurd

The government adoption of AI will not bring about a government being run by robots. Instead, our government will continue to be run by people, with help from algorithms dramatically improving government services for all Americans.

My dad is black and my mom is white. It was not in vogue to be an interracial couple in the 1970s in South Texas. After my parents moved to San Antonio, it took almost a year for them to find their first home.

Sentiments of hate toward one another still permeate today's world, and there is still much work to be done to heal the divisions of racial prejudice.

Our party was built upon the beliefs of President Abraham Lincoln, who took the significant step to put us on the long path for equality.

Innovation by American energy companies has led to a glut of the lighter forms of crude oil found in U.S. shale basins such as Eagle Ford, Barnett and Permian Basin.

Strengthening our position so that countries can purchase their energy from us and not our adversaries moves us a step closer to a very important goal - North American energy security.

As a former CIA operative, I have seen first-hand that not every nation we buy energy from has America's best interest in mind.

Measure yourself and your success by what you give to others, not what you receive in return.

America has become an exceptional nation not because of what we have taken, but because of what we have given.

During my time in Pakistan, I was asked to lead an expedition to Azad Kashmir following a devastating earthquake in 2005 that claimed the lives of 80,000 people.

While introducing AI into the government will save money through optimizing processes, it should also be deployed to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

Documenting and recording paperwork, managing services like passport renewals, and processing patent applications are practices that could all be dramatically improved with robotic automation.

The government should urgently speed its adoption of AI to reduce the amount of time individuals spend unnecessarily interacting with the government and increase the speed of government response to citizens.

As a Republican, I believe it's unfortunate that a perception still exists in the minds of some Americans that the GOP condones racism.

The Russians know that well executed disinformation, when exercised tactically, can quickly metastasize.

Before I was elected to represent southwestern Texas in the U.S. Congress, I spent almost a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA. I served in places where Russia has geopolitical interests, and learned that Russia has one simple goal: to erode trust in democratic institutions.

Instead of debating whether or not Russia attempted to influence the 2016 elections - in ways that ranged from encouraging incorrect voting methods to promoting fake rallies to sharing false election stories - Americans should be debating how to counter this activity.

We cannot be so scared that our ideas or opinions will not survive being tested. If you are afraid of being wrong, then you might not have a good argument.

We must have real debates where disagreements exist, listen to each other, not shy away from ideas different from our own and treat people with respect.

If I have learned anything from my time in Congress, it is that the only way we are going to solve the big problems our country faces is by working together.

As a member of Congress who represents one of the few true swing districts in the country, I have always tried to engage groups of people who don't necessarily agree with all my votes or opinions.

A feasible North Korea strategy must consider how to reassure China that our objectives on the peninsula are not aggressive.

A China-friendly North Korea serves as a buffer between southern China and the U.S.'s sphere of influence in the region - something of which China is perpetually skeptical.

Failed weapons tests are necessary components of the weapons development process.

The U.S's first ballistic missile test was a complete disaster. The Atlas Missile Program, which began in the early 1950s, attempted its first ballistic missile launch on June 11, 1957. The rocket flew for 24 seconds before blowing up. It took two more years before the first successfully armed test flight took place.

Not only can AI improve civilian safety, it will vastly improve battlefield logistics, creating better scenarios for men and women in uniform.

At the secret CIA training facility called 'The Farm,' aspiring case-officers learn how to recruit spies and steal secrets. As a former CIA officer, this is where I was taught that in order to successfully recruit an asset, I must first understand what would motivate an individual to cooperate with the CIA in the first place.

U.S. energy policy is about far more than jobs and the economy. It is a critical component of our foreign policy.

Until the ayatollahs that run Iran give up the pursuit of nuclear weapons, we cannot and should not ease the pressure on the regime to do so.

Having served in both Pakistan and India, I'm familiar with how their nuclear armament influenced regional stability.

National Parks are a part of the American experience. They evoke memories of childhood vacations and pride in the beauty of our national landscapes. They are also reminders that if these parks are to remain beautiful and accessible, we have a responsibility as a nation to maintain and protect them.

Rules that are not stringently upheld are more likely to get broken.

I was in the CIA for nine years. I am intimately familiar with the information classification system. I used it every day on the job. Like every other one of my colleagues at the agency, I approached the handling of classified information with immense care because I understand the ramifications.

The war against Islamic extremism will be long. They are in it for the long haul, which means that we have to be also.

ISIS was able to grow because the Obama administration stuck its head in the sand rather than address the emerging problem.

The United States has the most capable military in the world. We have the best intelligence agencies.

There is a scenario where AI may keep U.S. soldiers off the battlefield entirely, by using AI as a strategic advantage to prevent conflict or using it to find the critical piece of information within surveillance footage.

As we consider the implications of AI, there is a bright future ahead for countries that invest and participate.

The simple fact is that when our foreign partners are more secure, so are we.

I've been telling people, if we want to keep the Republican party in Texas, the Republican party in Texas needs to start looking like Texas. And I think that this is - that goes for the rest of the country as well.

I shouldn't be the only African American Republican in the House of Representatives.

I think the Republican party should be a broad party.

I am continuously amazed by innovations in security and surveillance technology as a member of the House committees on both Homeland Security and Intelligence.

While a physical barrier can be effective in urban areas, each sector of the border faces unique geographical, cultural and technological challenges that would be best addressed with a flexible, sector-by-sector approach that empowers the Border Patrol agents on the ground with the resources they need.

A one-size-fits-all approach will not solve our complex border problems.

What we need is a 'Smart Wall' to solve our 21st century border problems. A Smart Wall would use sensor, radar and surveillance technologies to detect and track incursions across our border so we can deploy efficiently our most important resource, the men and women of Border Patrol, to perform the most difficult task - interdiction.

The United States and our allies will not prevent countries from doing business with Chinese companies like Huawei on the basis of security concerns alone, though there are a number of them. We must provide an alternative service or product that is better, more secure and less costly. We need to respond by out-innovating our opponent.

To continue to be the world leader in innovation, we have to retrain and 'reskill' our workforce over time and prepare our kids for jobs that don't even exist today.

To ensure that the free world continues to set the rules of the road in the global economy, America and its allies must work together to continue to be the world's centers of innovation and technological advancement.

All Americans should be concerned about the potential for China to replace the United States as the most important economy in the world.