The AI President
It’s not Donald Trump. It’s the person next.
We are humans, men who can make; whose language imagines mercy, lovingkindness; we have believed one another the mirrored forms of a God we felt as good— —Life at War, Denise Levertov
During the presidential campaign, our nation’s two candidates were perhaps not the most equipped to engage deeply on the question of AI. At risk of being ageist, I just don’t think 80-year-olds (especially those ones) really get what’s going on. Trump has, however, assembled a staff of AI/Silicon Valley insiders to steer policy. We all want experts at the helm, but me, I want experts that are aligned with my politics.
The July executive orders and the limits of republican AI policy
The three executive orders below were signed July of this year. Who knows what exactly the implementation and impact of these orders will be, but they do provide a vague skeleton of what the administration’s goals with respect to AI are.
1. Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack
Creates the American AI Exports Program to expand U.S. AI technology globally.
Directs Commerce to solicit proposals from industry consortia within 90 days.
Seeks to boost economic and national security through global AI adoption.
2. Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure
Speeds up federal approvals for AI data centers and related facilities.
Allows use of federal land and resources for new infrastructure.
Supports large-scale projects to strengthen U.S. tech leadership.
3. Preventing “Woke” AI in the Federal Government
Requires federal AI systems to prioritize truth and accuracy.
Bars procurement of models with ideological bias.
Limits contracts to companies that can show ideological neutrality.
Now we're seeing what the Trump administration’s vision for AI policy looks like. It’s built around an accelerationist, maximalist approach to AI development. In this vision, AI is the driver for both national security and economic power. They are starting with a core premise: beat China in AI. These policies work backward from that central tenet. The administration envisions a future where American firms and their technology become the global standard for AI. around the world, and this plan is designed to speed that process. We are trying to dominate globally.
I’d be remiss to ignore the executive order on preventing “Woke” AI, but yeah, not much to say about that. We can just always count on 25% of what comes out of the White House to be on the bleeding edge of stupidity.
I’ll say it: I think with the exception of the ridiculous anti-woke stuff, these goals are pretty reasonable. But these current policy positions fail to drive at anything bigger than the nebulous notions of “beating China” and “more AI faster?”
AI technologies are going to deeply impact every facet of society, and I’m seeing no ideas from Trump and co. on what to do about it.
The democrats have an opportunity
I read Pete Buttigieg’s Substack post titled We Are Still Underreacting on AI last month. I guess the title speaks for itself.
“The enormous opportunities and terrifying challenges associated with AI, some of which are likely to materialize in the next three to five years, don’t just matter to a venture capital firm or the owner of a cornfield being turned into a data center. Our experiences as citizens, consumers, parents, employees, students, and more, will soon go through their biggest changes in generations.”
I agree with almost all of the content of his piece, but more so, I agree with what the piece (and the author) is doing. Democrats have long struggled with building and controlling the policy narrative. There are structural problems: Elon runs twitter, rage/craziness boosts FB engagement numbers, Fox News exists, Sinclair exists, etc. But none of that is changing. If anything the information environment is getting worse and centrist Democrats like Pete are getting absolutely dogwalked by the Republicans and leftists alike. Pete is investing early in being a leader on the second-order impacts of AI. Good investment IMO.
Like the stock market currently, AI is the only thing that matters.
Republicans cannot have a monopoly on dictating what issues matter to the country and why they matter. Pete is getting in on the ground-level for what will be the most important policy issues of our time. Democrats need to follow suit and hammer this issue early, often, intelligently. Very soon the question of Border Policy approval numbers will seem quaint and far away. The question of education is going to be the question of AI. The question of the economy is going to be the question of AI. If you thought “economic anxiety” was bad in 2016…buddy, Zohran has a spot for you at the register of Federal Grocery of America branch No. 9081. Presidential approval rating is AI approval rating.
Choose your AI leader
By the time the next presidential election comes around, AI as the topic du jour is inevitable. What isn’t inevitable is what the defining narrative is. If the narrative sounds like Cold War race-to-the-moon and build more nukes but AI edition, then hawkish and isolationist candidates and parties (read: classic Republicans) will win. If the narrative is something a bit more complicated, inclusive, and bigger than a foreign policy issue, then Democrats win the moment. The bellwether will be when at the 2028 Presidential Debate, is the first question on AI: “How will the USA will the AI race against China?” or is it “What will you do to address AI’s impact on jobs/wages and children?”