The U.S. imagines itself as the world’s leader in technology, and for good reason. American tech dominates many world markets. Yet just about every report that looks at where America is and where it is going sees this nation in decline or at risk of it. It’s a theme that has been picked up by President Barack Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, who won a Nobel Prize in physics. Both have warned recently that the nation is facing a “Sputnik moment,” with a shrinking share of the world’s technology export market. This view also arises as the U.S. continues to lead the world in new tech directions, such as cloud computing. U.S. tech firms are building highly energy-efficient data centers at shopping-mall-size scales to serve global customers.