Washington, D.C. – On November 8, 2023, the XR Association, a leading trade association representing the growing ecosystem of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality companies, hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill for Congressional staff to formally launch its latest white paper, “Reality Check: Why the U.S. Government Should Nurture XR.” This report, the result of a year-long research project with our co-authors from the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at The George Washington University, examines competitive advantage in XR among China, South Korea, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
At the briefing, Joan O’Hara, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the XR Association, moderated a panel discussion with Susan Aaronson, Research Professor at The George Washington University and white paper co-author, and Juan Londono, AR/VR Policy Analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
The panel discussed the need for the U.S. to do more to maintain its competitive advantage in XR and encouraged lawmakers to introduce legislation that would produce a comprehensive XR strategy and support the use of XR for government purposes. More than 50 staffers from over 35 Congressional offices and committees attended the briefing. This paper will serve as the foundation for XRA’s ongoing advocacy work to educate lawmakers on the need for the U.S. government to think more strategically about XR.
