Trump's Return to Presidency: Implications for AI Regulation and Innovation

What Does Trump's Presidency Mean to AI?

Trump's return to the White House in 2024 can be seen as a minimalist form of AI governance. His leadership may allow him to shape US AI leadership policy, including the pathways of emerging technologies. This might have major implications for America's positioning in the global tech innovation and leadership sphere. Trump's impact on technology will be around deregulation, with a focus on innovation in as well as emerging fields. The second term of his presidency will further activities initiated in the first term for the , which he established to strengthen U.S. leadership in AI through defence, health, and the economy. While a very pro-business stance allied to the idea of "cutting red tape" or having perhaps minimum governmental regulation for AI might establish an unregulated private space for free manoeuvring towards innovation for companies, such an approach leaves the public all alone to face the challenges brought by fast advances, such as loss of privacy, algorithmic bias, and job displacement by machine automation.

What to expect for AI under Trump

President-elect Trump's return to the White House has those in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry preparing for potential cutbacks in regulation and federal funding. From the launch of ChatGPT to the increased use of deepfakes, AI rapidly developed over the past four years, and Trump is heading back to the Oval Office amid a very different tech landscape. While offering few specifics about his plans for AI, the president-elect's alliance with tech billionaire Elon Musk and his pledge to repeal President Biden's AI executive order could mean private sector-driven innovation and competition will be prioritized over regulation, industry experts said. "I think the obvious [impact] at least [is] less regulation," said Jason Corso, an AI researcher and the co-founder and CEO of computer vision startup Voxel51. This could have a ripple effect on the AI industry down the road, he added. "I don't think there would be an immediate impact to any immediate deregulation because we're just learning about what to do. I think what would be impacted is the longer-term health and understanding or progress for a safer world with safe AI," Corso said. Deregulation was a key focus of Trump's first term, and he has indicated he plans to continue the approach in his second term. Trump and Musk, who has become one of the president-elect's most vocal supporters, have repeatedly floated the idea of a government efficiency commission focused on eliminating wasteful government spending and regulations. It remains unclear if the idea will come to fruition or if Musk will lead it. Scaled-back regulation could be coupled with slashed research funding for AI, a concern for some in the field. "Historically, we've relied on government spending to do the type of research or understanding that companies are not going to do because it's not directly involved in the bottom line," Corso said. AI research was a central part of the Biden administration's tech policy, as seen through the creation of the U.S. AI Safety Institute at the Commerce Department. The institute was created in the wake of Biden's executive order on AI, issued last year to harness the technology's benefits and manage its risks. Trump plans to repeal the order, according to the Republican Party's policy platform, published last July. "We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology," the platform states. "In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing." Trump's spokespeople did not respond to The Hill's request for more details. Biden's order laid out new safety standards for the federal government and companies with the most powerful AI systems, among other directives. It was followed up last month with a national security memorandum, encouraging government agencies' use of AI for national security and foreign competition. The incoming administration "will identify things and pieces that they may want to retain or adapt as they work through their own version of the order," a former Trump White House official told The Hill. "I definitely would expect that a number of the provisions associated with that order will be repealed and then will continue to set the tone from a policy standpoint as to what they would want to come next," the official added. Some within the industry said Biden's measures were not enough to keep up with the technology's rapid development and did not scratch the surface when it came to regulation. "There's almost nothing to repeal, it was a statement of intent. ... There hasn't been any action, and so I don't think it matters whether you repeal whatever is in place. It matters whether you build sensible regulation now," said Matt Calkins, CEO of Appian, which offers software used by the government and other companies. Calkins believes Trump's growing partnership with Musk, the owner of the social platform X, SpaceX and Tesla, could bring AI to the "forefront" of policy once the new administration begins. "Trump may not have cared about it on his own, but Musk does, and Musk has opinions which we already know about with regards to AI," Calkins said, pointing to Musk's support of a since-vetoed California AI measure that would have established safety measures for powerful AI companies. "He supported it because he is so careful about the destructive power of AI," Calkins added. AI advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation circulated a petition Monday calling on Trump to make Musk a special adviser on AI, arguing he is well positioned to ensure the U.S. continues to lead on AI. Musk helped found OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT tool, which brought AI to the public and started a race between firms to develop and release their own models. He also owns an AI company, xAI. He is among the various wealthy Silicon Valley leaders who have flocked to the right, breaking with the industry's longtime support of Democrats. The leaders are joined by a growing group of cryptocurrency investors who shifted their support amid frustrations with the Biden administration's hard-line approach to digital currencies. Trump is likely to bring others from the industry into his fold. Politico reported last week Michael Kratsios, his former chief technology officer, and Gal Slater, Vice President-elect Vance's economic policy adviser, were appointed to handle tech policy during the transition. Kratsios was most recently the managing director at AI startup Scale AI. "It would not surprise me looking to Elon or any other leaders within the tech industry ... that he pulls them in in order to provide more of an advisory role as he continues to build out his agenda," the former White House official said. The optimism about Trump's interest in AI is boosted by his focus on maintaining an edge over foreign competitors, namely China. "There's a strong indication that the national security aspects of AI are going to be a significant focus in the Trump administration," said John Verdi, senior vice president of policy for the nonprofit Future of Privacy Forum and a former Obama administration official. This focus could resemble a continuation of the Biden administration's policies, which similarly sought to curb technological developments by China.

Trump's Second Presidency Could Mean AI Chaos, or a Flurry of Innovation

Everyone from the EU to Chinese authorities have floated the idea of somehow regulating its development to ensure some measure of safety. The U.S. has proposed its own rules, and later in November Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken are set to hold a global safety summit on AI. But now that former President Trump is the again the President-elect, the White House's stance on AI may change. Trump allies indicated during the campaign that one early action will be to dismantle President Biden's October 2023 executive order setting out AI safety protections. In July Trump allies were reportedly already working on a program that they think would make "Make America First in AI," the Washington Post reported. News site Ars Technica reports that Trump promises to start undoing the Biden administration's progress on regulating AI immediately after the former president retakes his seat in the Oval Office. Biden's 2023 order set out a framework for "red team" testing of AIs, and addressed issues like watermarking of AI-generated photos and videos so that risks of "deepfake" scams or misinformation efforts could be suppressed by making it clear when a piece of content wasn't generated organically by human effort. Perhaps even more importantly in our information-centric world, the order also planned to address AI's threat to users' data.

Trump Planning to Unleash Artificial Intelligence by Repealing Restrictions

"We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology." Donald Trump is now set to be the next president of the United States, blowing the future of AI regulation in this country wide open. That's because Trump has promised to repeal the existing AI regulations implemented by outgoing President Joe Biden, which were arguably light to begin with. If Trump makes good on his promise, unchecked AI development may well be the order of the day. "We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology," Trump stated in his campaign platform. "In its place, Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing." Through an executive order, the Biden administration passed its existing AI regulations in October 2023 using a national defense act from 1950 as justification, meaning in the eyes of his opponents they were already on tenuous legal ground. That's not really relevant now, though, since all Trump has to do is pass a counter-order to negate it. The tech-bro-slash-accelerationist and conservative critique of the Biden AI order is mostly directed at two of its provisions, in Wired's analysis. One lays out new requirements for how tech companies test and conduct risk assessments of their AI models, a practice known as "red-teaming." Under the Biden provision, companies developing large AI models are required to share all red-team test results to the federal government for review, assessing for things like how vulnerable the AIs are to being hacked. Critics paint this process as needlessly slowing down the pace of AI development and forcing companies to disclose their trade secrets. The other provision of note requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology to author guidance on, among other things, ensuring AI models are free of biases that could discriminate against certain groups based on factors like race or gender. That's the part that Trump and his ilk see as imposing "radical left-wing ideas." It's impossible to separate the conversation from Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and X-formerly-Twitter. He has criticized large AI models like ChatGPT for being "woke," and launched his own AI startup and chatbot, a venture couched in the techno-optimist rhetoric of "understanding the universe." Indeed, Musk sued OpenAI earlier this year purportedly for the "benefit of humanity," because the now Microsoft-backed start up departed from its initial non-profit aims. Those point to an ulterior motive. As a huge donor to the Trump campaign, for which he's earned a spot in the incoming president's inner circle, Musk stands to gain a whole lot from Trump's relaxed regulations, which could allow his AI ventures to gain ground on his big tech competitors that had a years-long head start. More broadly, it's likely that Trump will oversee further deregulation of the tech industry at large, and especially cryptocurrency, which has become his latest dubious business venture after he flip-flopped from a vociferous critic to a major booster. What this all means for big tech monopolies in particular is unclear, however. Several of the Federal Trade Commission's biggest anti-trust suits against the likes of Google and Amazon were started during Trump's first term in office, and were continued to be pursued during Biden's. Yet Trump has recently sounded more skeptical about the Biden-led Department of Justice attempts to break up Google's enormous monopoly on search engines, as Reuters noted. Muddying the waters, his running mate and future vice president JD Vance is on the record as a supporter of the Biden FTC's antitrust enforcement against big tech. As to what Trump plans to replace Biden's AI executive order with, that remains unclear. The platform doesn't specify a detailed course of policy, beyond looser regulations and culture war signifiers. But in all likelihood, expect the new administration to pursue a laissez-faire era of AI development -- which, for a technology that its proponents have constantly insisted will soon be smart enough to rival humans and potentially destroy society as we know it, is more than a little concerning. Granted, those could be industry exaggerations, but there's still plenty of mundane AI consequences to worry about, like widespread job destruction and voracious power consumption, which could be swept under the rug.

Donald Trump's Victory Paves the Way for AI's Free Reign

His second term as the 47th President of the United States could shake up the AI ecosystem. Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump is set to return to the White House after securing a little over 270 electoral college votes, surpassing the majority mark in the 2024 presidential election. With this win, Trump has not only changed the political landscape but is also likely to alter the technology landscape globally. The former president, who has expressed enthusiasm for and scepticism about Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in the past, has left the AI industry leaders feel optimistic about the future. Trump is not a proponent of regulating AI companies. Throughout his campaign, he revealed several plans to significantly change the AI ecosystem in the United States and beyond. One key policy decision that the industry is hoping for is the deregulation of Biden's 2023 Executive Order on AI, which Trump has promised to revoke once he comes to power. The policy mostly focuses on stringent measures, and practices that AI firms need to follow. The order was drafted to avoid misuse, misinformation and any dangerous consequences that would affect the public in several key sectors. Despite Trump threatening to throw Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in prison for possibly meddling with the elections, and taking on Google saying it could be broken because its search results are 'rigged', tech industry leaders are lining up to congratulate the leader on his win. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took to X to send his wishes to the newly elected and said, "No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing Donald Trump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman extended his diplomatic wishes to Trump and said, "It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values." Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai also expressed his support and said, "We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help bring the benefits to everyone." During in presidency, Trump acknowledged the importance of AI and even signed an executive order in 2019 to promote the development of AI. He also used AI to rewrite his political speech during his campaigns this year and expressed his excitement over it. "What it does is so crazy. Now, it can also be really used for good," Trump had said in an interaction with American influencer Logan Paul. With his win, people in the industry predict a shift in the technological landscape and the economic impact it is expected to create. Tesla CEO Elon Musk who runs the biggest Electric Vehicle company in the US had significantly supported Trump's campaign, reportedly spending $175 million. Musk is expected to be the chief beneficiary of the result amid Trump's views against the EV market over tax credit given by the government. Dan Ives, MD, equity research at Wedbush Securities, said in an interview with CNBC," For a Tesla bull, if you wake up, this is exactly what you want to see, and of course, Musk will clearly have a big voice in the administration." However, exploring the other side of the narrative, Ives also said on X that "A major change in tariffs/harsher stance on China would significantly impact the supply chain, Nvidia, Beijing retaliatory Apple/Tesla likely, and slow the pace of the AI Revolution." Raul Brens Jr., acting senior director at GeoTech Center, Atlantic Council, said, "The second Trump administration will likely chart a different course on AI than the one taken over the past four years. Trump has historically favoured limited government regulation, emphasising AI as a tool to strengthen US competitiveness, particularly against China." Kai-Fu Lee, author and founder of Chinese AI startup 01.AI, wrote a blog post explaining five influential factors in Trump's victory, which indicates his stance on an optimistic future for America. Contrary to Biden's policy, Trump's allies at the American First Policy Institute have drafted an order and aim to create a 'Manhattan Project'-esque effort to propel AI technology, especially in the defense sector. Some of the most influential names in the AI industry believe that removing Biden's order could open up the market for an unprecedented rate of innovation, benefiting technological advancements and the economy. The lack of guardrails could also increase investments in the AI ecosystem. While not all tech company CEOs have publicly endorsed Trump, a few notable figures were quite vocal about their support -- barring the obvious, Elon Musk. Over the last few months, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of a16z, have extended their support to Donald Trump. Both of them donated $2.5 million each to 'Right for America', a pro-Donald Trump PAC. Andreesen believes Trump's policies are favourable for big tech and AI. In a podcast episode hosted by both, Horowitz said " The future of our business, the future of technology, new technology and the future of America is literally at stake so here we are, and for a little tech we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice". Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and a notable VC, a few months ago said, "If you hold a gun to my head, I will vote for Trump". Crystal McKeller, founder at Aloft VC, in an interview published a day before the result, said: "They're (Trump and J.D Vance) not going to just roll back regulations that are stifling American industry, but they are actually going to actively implement policies that will stimulate growth and encourage innovation." Moreover, Trump also proposed several immigration policies favourable to aspiring talent. In a podcast episode, he said, "What I will do is, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country." However, Debarghya Das, a VC at Menlo Ventures pointed out on X that "His (Trump's) last administration was not statistically favourable for legal high-skilled immigration." Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist has been quite vocal in criticising Donald Trump and has frequently engaged in a verbal battle with Musk. While Meta may benefit from the broader advantage of loosening the regulations, they're clearly not expecting any pleasant surprises from Trump's second term. Without any direct engagement with Trump, several companies have maintained a strong stance on AI safety and regulations. Anthropic recently released a blogpost emphasising the need for AI control and regulation. They said the government should urgently take action on AI policy in the next eighteen months to proactiveley prevent risksk. Trump's victory, and his alliance with Elon Musk may also leave OpenAI uncomfortable. Musk has more than criticised OpenAI's practices, and given the expectation that he may have a leading voice in Trump 2.0, Sam Altman would have certainly wished for the other possibility in the election results. Sundar Pichai acknowledges the need for AI regulations that could alleviate potential dangers that may arise from the technology. Moreover, key figures like Ilya Sutskever who left OpenAI to build AI tech that priortizes safety may not favour loosened guardrails that regulate AI. While removing stringent policies can momentarily increase the capital influx into the AI industry and strengthen America's global technological dominance, it's imperative that the new government strike a balance between the two. Furthermore, Trump's plans to use AI to amplify America's defense and military capabilities may lead to impactful developments for the private sector, especially for startups that are focusing on building technology in the interests of national security.

Donald Trump's Victory Paves the Way for AI's Free Rein

His second term as the 47th President of the United States could shake up the AI ecosystem. Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump is set to return to the White House after securing a little over 270 electoral college votes, surpassing the majority mark in the 2024 presidential election. With this win, Trump has not only changed the political landscape but is also likely to alter the technology landscape globally. The former president, who has expressed enthusiasm for and scepticism about Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in the past, has left the AI industry leaders feel optimistic about the future. Trump is not a proponent of regulating AI companies. Throughout his campaign, he revealed several plans to significantly change the AI ecosystem in the United States and beyond. One key policy decision that the industry is hoping for is the deregulation of Biden's 2023 Executive Order on AI, which Trump has promised to revoke once he comes to power. The policy mostly focuses on stringent measures, and practices that AI firms need to follow. The order was drafted to avoid misuse, misinformation and any dangerous consequences that would affect the public in several key sectors. Despite Trump threatening to throw Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in prison for possibly meddling with the elections, and taking on Google saying it could be broken because its search results are 'rigged', tech industry leaders are lining up to congratulate the leader on his win. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took to X to send his wishes to the newly elected and said, "No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing Donald Trump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman extended his diplomatic wishes to Trump and said, "It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values." Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai also expressed his support and said, "We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help bring the benefits to everyone." During in presidency, Trump acknowledged the importance of AI and even signed an executive order in 2019 to promote the development of AI. He also used AI to rewrite his political speech during his campaigns this year and expressed his excitement over it. "What it does is so crazy. Now, it can also be really used for good," Trump had said in an interaction with American influencer Logan Paul. With his win, people in the industry predict a shift in the technological landscape and the economic impact it is expected to create. Tesla CEO Elon Musk who runs the biggest Electric Vehicle company in the US had significantly supported Trump's campaign, reportedly spending $175 million. Musk is expected to be the chief beneficiary of the result amid Trump's views against the EV market over tax credit given by the government. Dan Ives, MD, equity research at Wedbush Securities, said in an interview with CNBC," For a Tesla bull, if you wake up, this is exactly what you want to see, and of course, Musk will clearly have a big voice in the administration." However, exploring the other side of the narrative, Ives also said on X that "A major change in tariffs/harsher stance on China would significantly impact the supply chain, Nvidia, Beijing retaliatory Apple/Tesla likely, and slow the pace of the AI Revolution." Raul Brens Jr., acting senior director at GeoTech Center, Atlantic Council, said, "The second Trump administration will likely chart a different course on AI than the one taken over the past four years. Trump has historically favoured limited government regulation, emphasising AI as a tool to strengthen US competitiveness, particularly against China." Kai-Fu Lee, author and founder of Chinese AI startup 01.AI, wrote a blog post explaining five influential factors in Trump's victory, which indicates his stance on an optimistic future for America. Contrary to Biden's policy, Trump's allies at the American First Policy Institute have drafted an order and aim to create a 'Manhattan Project'-esque effort to propel AI technology, especially in the defense sector. Some of the most influential names in the AI industry believe that removing Biden's order could open up the market for an unprecedented rate of innovation, benefiting technological advancements and the economy. The lack of guardrails could also increase investments in the AI ecosystem. While not all tech company CEOs have publicly endorsed Trump, a few notable figures were quite vocal about their support -- barring the obvious, Elon Musk. Over the last few months, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of a16z, have extended their support to Donald Trump. Both of them donated $2.5 million each to 'Right for America', a pro-Donald Trump PAC. Andreesen believes Trump's policies are favourable for big tech and AI. In a podcast episode hosted by both, Horowitz said " The future of our business, the future of technology, new technology and the future of America is literally at stake so here we are, and for a little tech we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice". Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and a notable VC, a few months ago said, "If you hold a gun to my head, I will vote for Trump". Crystal McKeller, founder at Aloft VC, in an interview published a day before the result, said: "They're (Trump and J.D Vance) not going to just roll back regulations that are stifling American industry, but they are actually going to actively implement policies that will stimulate growth and encourage innovation." Moreover, Trump also proposed several immigration policies favourable to aspiring talent. In a podcast episode, he said, "What I will do is, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country." However, Debarghya Das, a VC at Menlo Ventures pointed out on X that "His (Trump's) last administration was not statistically favourable for legal high-skilled immigration." Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist has been quite vocal in criticising Donald Trump and has frequently engaged in a verbal battle with Musk. While Meta may benefit from the broader advantage of loosening the regulations, they're clearly not expecting any pleasant surprises from Trump's second term. Without any direct engagement with Trump, several companies have maintained a strong stance on AI safety and regulations. Anthropic recently released a blogpost emphasising the need for AI control and regulation. They said the government should urgently take action on AI policy in the next eighteen months to proactiveley prevent risksk. Trump's victory, and his alliance with Elon Musk may also leave OpenAI uncomfortable. Musk has more than criticised OpenAI's practices, and given the expectation that he may have a leading voice in Trump 2.0, Sam Altman would have certainly wished for the other possibility in the election results. Sundar Pichai acknowledges the need for AI regulations that could alleviate potential dangers that may arise from the technology. Moreover, key figures like Ilya Sutskever who left OpenAI to build AI tech that priortizes safety may not favour loosened guardrails that regulate AI. While removing stringent policies can momentarily increase the capital influx into the AI industry and strengthen America's global technological dominance, it's imperative that the new government strike a balance between the two. Furthermore, Trump's plans to use AI to amplify America's defense and military capabilities may lead to impactful developments for the private sector, especially for startups that are focusing on building technology in the interests of national security.

Think you know Trump's AI agenda? Get ready for a surprise

President-elect Donald Trump has telegraphed big changes to the nation's all-important AI strategy, many of which are expected to be implemented immediately after his inauguration in January. But while some of Trump's plans are predictable, as part of an effort to make the U.S. the world's leader in the fast-emerging technology, others are still a mystery, experts told Fortune. Part of the reason is that AI policy is complex. And because AI is such a new technology, officials are still trying to figure it out. "Nobody has clearly laid out a perfect AI regulation strategy, because, frankly, there probably isn't one, we're still so early in this innovation cycle," said Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud storage company Box. Another wildcard is the chorus of voices advising Trump on technology and AI policy, including billionaire Elon Musk, who campaigned for Trump and contributed over $100 million to a pro-Trump political action committee. Who Trump will ultimately choose to listen to, among the conflicting agendas, is unknown. "Given that there are so many voices in that room and so many powerful men with egos, how is that going to work out?" said Chloe Autio, an AI policy consultant who works with AI companies and government. Still, Trump has sent some very clear signals about what he'll do about AI. The most obvious, experts agree, is that he'll make good on his promise to repeal President Joe Biden's year-old executive order aimed at making AI safe and secure. The order sets safety and privacy standards for AI, and promotes its ethical use. But the 2024 Republican platform called the order "dangerous," saying that it "hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology." In general, Trump will likely pick up where his first administration left off in January 2020, when it issued guidance to federal agencies about AI. The memo called on the government to reduce barriers to AI development and adoption and avoid regulations that hamper innovation and growth, said Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a center-right think tank in Washington, D.C. One thing that may be on the chopping block is the AI Safety Institute (AISI). The executive order directed the Department of Commerce to create the institute, housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and is intended to evaluate the safety of the most advanced artificial intelligence to national security, public safety, and individual rights. Adam Aft, the lead attorney in Baker McKenzie's North America technology transactions group, with a focus on AI, said the safety institute is among the elements of Biden's executive order that is most likely to be killed. And since Trump has said he would repeal the order, it would likely be one of the first and easiest changes. However, there are many supporters inside and outside government who don't want the AISI to vanish, said Thierer. A group of tech industry players and think tanks have been pushing Congress to make the AISI permanent before the end of the year, and before Trump takes office. If AISI survives, Trump could appoint new leaders to it that, in a twist, could be among those who fear AI is long-term risk to humanity. Among those who have talked about the dangers is Musk, who is now in a position to influence Trump's AI policies and his picks for the AISI's leadership. "Trump could turn to Musk and say, 'Who do you want to bring in?'" said Thierer. "And that's going to be a really interesting moment." Another big question is Trump's position on open source AI, or AI tools and models available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. Supporters of open source AI, which includes models from Meta, Mistral, and Musk's xAI, describe it as a counterbalance to AI from Big Tech companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, which typically keep their AI models closed and proprietary. But there is also a strong push to block unfriendly nations from getting access to advanced AI, due to national security concerns, by regulating AI exports and limiting cybersecurity improvements. For example, Chinese researchers reportedly developed an AI model for military use by building on Meta's open source model, Llama. "That is going to be a high-level cat fight all the way up," Thierer said about the coming debate within the Trump administration about how to regulate open source AI. Autio pointed out that JD Vance, Trump's vice president-elect, has previously supported open source AI development. "How do we reconcile that? I think it will be a big question like who will be the loudest voice in [Trump's] ear when it comes to figuring out some of these very deeply substantive, thorny issues," she said. AI is also an indirect consideration when it comes to Trump's plan to increase tariffs on products imported from countries like China. It was a core part of his campaign, intended to encourage U.S. manufacturing. But tariffs could increase costs for hardware that is critical for AI, such as chips, many of which are manufactured abroad. They may also disrupt the supply chains of tech companies and put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage to companies in Asia and Europe, due to higher component costs, retaliatory tariffs, or foreign firms that can undercut on price. "We're hearing from people, across the board, the possibly unintended impacts that might have on research and development in this space," Danielle Benecke, global head of law firm Baker McKenzie's machine learning practice. You can also expect pushback on so-called woke AI, Thierer said, using a term for AI that is considered too left-leaning. Trump could use an executive order to pressure tech companies to disclose or revise algorithms deemed politically biased, or establish guidelines or oversight that review algorithms for bias, ensuring they do not favor one political viewpoint over another. Previously, Musk has attacked OpenAI and Google, claiming they are influenced by a "woke mind virus." For example, in February, when Google's Gemini chatbot generated historically inaccurate images, such as Black Nazis and Vikings, Musk cited it as evidence of Google's AI promoting what he viewed as an excessively "woke" perspective. "Conservatives, since the time Trump left office and his de-platforming on X, have been very fired up about what they regard as algorithmic bias or discrimination," Thierer said. "I've pushed back myself kind of aggressively against that, but the bottom line is they feel it's very real, and it made for a strong shift by MAGA conservatives against so-called woke tech issues." Any efforts by Trump to regulate or censor what AI produces, however, could face legal challenges under the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech. But could still have a chilling effect on AI research or adoption, as businesses pull back on developing or deploying AI systems, if they face unpredictable legal consequences based on perceived social or political bias. Much of what Trump ultimately does will depend on who advises him on AI. In addition to Musk, there's Andreessen, investor and podcaster David Sacks, and Sequoia Capital's Shaun Maguire. Jacob Helberg, founder of software company Palantir, is another who may have Trump's ear. Trump's tech supporters are willing to work closely with the government on national security issues to counter China, Thierer said. It's a big change from recent years when Big Tech largely balked at allying with Washington. "This is a very different voice from Silicon Valley than in the past," Thierer said. The U.S. political divide also risks playing out among career government employees working on AI technology or policy issues. Some may decide to quit if they disagree with Trump's policies while recruiting replacements may be made more difficult, said Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's AI Safety and Security Board as well as a U.S. Science Envoy for AI for the State Department. "There are thoughtful, hardworking and kind people in government who are about to be in a difficult situation, and I have every sympathy for the tough decisions they are going to have to make," she said. No matter what happens, Box's Levie, for one, said he's more optimistic about Trump's future AI policy than he would have been during Trump 1.0. It boils down to what he considers to be more knowledgeable people in his orbit now. "Trump is surrounded by more tech-centric folks, like Elon, that I think are directionally aligned with where I see a lot of the most important technology innovations going, whether that's AI, EVs or energy production."

What Trump 2.0 means for AI regulation

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Sejal Sharma is IE's AI columnist, offering deep dives into the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact across industries. Her bi-monthly AI Logs column explores the latest trends, breakthroughs, and ethical dilemmas in AI, delivering expert analysis and fresh insights. To stay informed, subscribe to our AI Logs newsletter for exclusive content. At Camp David last year, US President Joe Biden was unwinding and watching Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One when he first began to recognize the global threat of artificial intelligence (AI).

What Trump's victory could mean for AI regulation | TechCrunch

A grueling election cycle has come to a close. Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the U.S., and, with Republicans in control of the Senate -- and possibly the House -- his allies are poised to bring sea change to the highest levels of government. The effects will be acutely felt in the AI industry, which has largely rallied against federal policymaking. Trump has repeatedly said he plans to dismantle Biden's AI policy framework on "day one" and has aligned himself with kingmakers who've sharply criticized all but the lightest touch regulations. Biden's AI policy came into force through executive order, the AI Executive Order, passed in October 2023. Congressional inaction on regulation precipitated the executive order, whose precepts are voluntary -- not compulsory. The AI EO addresses everything from advancing AI in healthcare to developing guidance designed to mitigate risks of IP theft. But two of its more consequential provisions -- which have raised the ire of some Republicans -- pertain to AI's security risks and real-world safety impacts. One provision directs companies developing powerful AI models to report to the government how they're training and securing these models, and to provide the results of tests designed to probe for model vulnerabilities. The other provision directs the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to author guidance that helps companies identify -- and correct for -- flaws in models, including biases. The AI EO accomplished much. In the last year, the Commerce Department established the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI), a body to study risks in AI systems, inclusive of systems with defense applications. It also released new software to help improve the trustworthiness of AI, and tested major new AI models through agreements with OpenAI and Anthropic. Critics allied with Trump argue that the EO's reporting requirements are onerous and effectively force companies to disclose their trade secrets. During a House hearing in March, Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) said they "could scare away would-be innovators and impede more ChatGPT-type breakthroughs." At a Senate hearing in July, Trump's running mate, JD Vance, expressed concerns that "preemptive overregulation attempts" would "entrench the tech incumbents that we already have." Vance has also been supportive of antitrust, including efforts by FTC chair Lina Khan, who's spearheading investigations of big tech companies' acquihires of AI startups. Several Republicans have equated NIST's work on AI with censorship of conservative speech. They accuse the Biden Administration of attempting to steer AI development with liberal notions about disinformation and bias; Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently slammed NIST's "woke AI 'safety' standards" as a "plan to control speech" based on "amorphous" social harms. "When I'm re-elected," Trump said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last December, "I will cancel Biden's artificial intelligence executive order and ban the use of AI to censor the speech of American citizens on day one." So what could replace Biden's AI EO? Little can be gleaned from the AI executive orders Trump signed during his last presidential term, which founded national AI research institutes and directed federal agencies to prioritize AI R&D. His EOs mandated that agencies "protect civil liberties, privacy, and American values" in applying AI, help workers gain AI-relevant skills, and promote the use of "trustworthy" technologies. During his campaign, Trump promised policies that would "support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing" -- but declined to go into detail. Some Republicans have said that they want NIST to focus on AI's physical safety risks, including its ability to help adversaries build bioweapons (which Biden's EO also addresses). But they've also shied away from endorsing new restrictions on AI, which could jeopardize portions of NIST's guidance. Indeed, the fate of the AISI, which is housed within NIST, is murky. While it has a budget, director, and partnerships with AI research institutes worldwide, the AISI could be wound down with a simple repeal of Biden's EO. In an open letter in October, a coalition of companies, nonprofits, and universities called on Congress to enact legislation codifying the AISI before the end of the year. Trump has acknowledged that AI is "very dangerous" and that it'll require massive amounts of power to develop and run, suggesting a willingness to engage with the growing risks from AI. This being the case, Sarah Kreps, a political scientist who focuses on U.S. defense policy, doesn't expect major AI regulation to emerge from the White House in the next four years. "I don't know that Trump's views on AI regulation will rise to the level of antipathy that causes him to repeal the Biden AI EO," she told TechCrunch. Dean Ball, a research fellow at George Mason University, agrees that Trump's victory likely augurs a light-touch regulatory regime -- one that'll rely on the application of existing law rather than the creation of new laws. However, Ball predicts that this may embolden state governments, particularly in Democratic strongholds like California, to try to fill the void. State-led efforts are well underway. In March, Tennessee passed a law protecting voice artists from AI cloning. This summer, Colorado adopted a tiered, risk-based approach to AI deployments. And in September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed dozens of AI-related safety bills, a few of which require companies to publish details about their AI training. State policymakers have introduced close to 700 pieces of AI legislation this year alone. "How the federal government will respond to these challenges is unclear," Ball said. Hamid Ekbia, a professor at Syracuse University studying public affairs, believes that Trump's protectionist policies could have AI regulatory implications. He expects the Trump administration to impose tighter export controls on China, for instance -- including controls on the technologies necessary for developing AI. The Biden administration already has in place a number of bans on the export of AI chips and models. However, some Chinese firms are reportedly using loopholes to access the tools through cloud services. "The global regulation of AI will suffer as a consequence [of new controls], despite the circumstances that call for more global cooperation," Ekbia said. "The political and geopolitical ramifications of this can be huge, enabling more authoritarian and oppressive uses of AI across the globe." Should Trump enact tariffs on the tech necessary to build AI, it could also squeeze the capital needed to fund AI R&D, says Matt Mittelsteadt, another research fellow at George Mason University. During his campaign, Trump proposed a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and 60% on Chinese-made products. "Perhaps the biggest impact will come from trade policies," Mittelsteadt said. "Expect any potential tariffs to have a massive economic impact on the AI sector." Of course, it's early. And while Trump for the most part avoided addressing AI on the campaign trail, much of his platform -- like his plan to restrict H-1B visas and embrace oil and gas -- could have downstream effects on the AI industry. Sandra Wachter, a professor in data ethics at the Oxford Internet Institute, urged regulators, regardless of their political affiliations, not to lose sight of the dangers of AI for its opportunities. "These risks exist regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum," she said. "These harms do not believe in geography and do not care about party lines. I can only hope that AI governance will not be reduced to a partisan issue -- it is an issue that affects all of us, everywhere. We all have to work together to find good global solutions."

Trump victory signals major shakeup for US AI regulations

Early Wednesday morning, Donald Trump became the presumptive winner of the 2024 US presidential election, setting the stage for dramatic changes to federal AI policy when he takes office early next year. Among them, Trump has stated he plans to dismantle President Biden's AI Executive Order from October 2023 immediately upon taking office. Biden's order established wide-ranging oversight of AI development. Among its core provisions, the order established the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and lays out requirements for companies to submit reports about AI training methodologies and security measures, including vulnerability testing data. The order also directed the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop guidance to help companies identify and fix flaws in their AI models. Trump supporters in the US government have criticized the measures, as TechCrunch points out. In March, Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) warned that reporting requirements could discourage innovation and prevent developments like ChatGPT. And Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) characterized NIST's AI safety standards as an attempt to control speech through "woke" safety requirements. With that kind of opposition, the future of the existing Biden-originated AI regulation programs remains unclear. The AISI, despite having a budget and international partnerships, could end with a repeal of Biden's executive order. In addition to deregulation, Trump's trade policies could significantly affect AI development. His proposed 10 percent tariff on all US imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese products might impact the AI industry's access to necessary technology and capital, potentially interrupting the supply of GPUs that are necessary to accelerate AI training and inference tasks. The administration may also strengthen export controls on AI chips and models to China, though some Chinese companies currently access these tools through cloud services. While Trump rarely discussed AI during his campaign, his other platform positions could influence the industry. His plans to restrict H-1B visas and expand oil and gas development may affect AI companies' ability to recruit talent and access computing resources.

AI Advocates See Trump Re-election as Industry Boost but Urge Caution on Policy - Decrypt

Supporters of artificial intelligence are welcoming Donald Trump's re-election as a potential boost for the industry, though careful consideration on policy direction is essential, they say. Trump's win is "a positive thing" for the artificial intelligence business, said Ray Wu, managing partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Alumni Ventures, noting that promoting AI innovation requires a lenient regulatory approach. "This industry is still very young," Wu said. "Having clear guidelines is very helpful, so at least there's a guardrail, but too much detail at this early stage will become a hindering force." Trump has indicated he will roll back the Biden Administration's October 2023 executive order requiring AI companies to disclose information about their safety protocols. The order also directed the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology to counsel companies to correct biases and flaws in their AI models, among other provisions. Critics of the order, like Republican Nancy Mace (R-SC), have argued that the reporting requirements should be repealed because they "could scare away would-be innovators and impede more ChatGPT-type breakthroughs." Others are not so sure. The Center for AI Policy, a research organization that works to "mitigate catastrophic risks from AI," warned the new administration against moving too fast. "While there is certainly room to improve on the Biden AI executive order, a careless or hasty repeal could negatively affect the consistency and rigor of safety testing across the AI industry," the group said in a statement emailed to Decrypt. Another priority of the next administration will be protecting the US's position as an international AI leader, which both Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris emphasized during the campaign, wrote Oxford University lecturer Keegan McBride on X. "Probably the biggest focus for the incoming Trump administration will be on ensuring American dominance in the global AI competition with a strong focus on beating China," he wrote. "In practice, this will likely see movement to both widen and strengthen export controls targeting China's AI industry" and make "new investments internally in AI." Still, predicting Trump's AI agenda is tricky because so little was said about the issue on the campaign trail, according to Sanjay Patnaik, director of the Brooking Institution's Center on Regulation and Markets. However, based on the former president's previous term in office, Patnaik thinks Trump is "probably going to try to reduce any regulatory burden or any new regulations on AI companies." If so, it could provide an opportunity for smaller AI startups, Patnaik added.

5 ways Trump will change AI according to Deutsche Bank By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Donald Trump's anticipated second term could redefine the trajectory of AI space in the United States. While there was a strong continuity between Trump's AI policies in his first term and Joe Biden's term, the former president's rapport with tech executives, criticism of regulation, and a tougher stance against China "suggest a change in approach is imminent," according to Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) analysts. With rapid developments in generative AI over the past two years, Deutsche Bank highlights five key shifts expected under Trump's leadership. 1) 'Tech leaders are in the room where it happens:' Trump's close ties with Silicon Valley giants like Elon Musk and venture capital leaders signal a new openness to industry perspectives. Musk, a major Trump campaign donor, is now set to lead a government department focused on efficiency, giving him a significant role in shaping tech policy. The president's vice-presidential pick, JD (NASDAQ:JD) Vance, also shares strong connections to tech, co-founding Narya Capital with prominent tech backers. During his appearance on the 'All-In' podcast hosted by venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, Trump said his policies "would boost Silicon Valley by deregulating cryptocurrency, increasing access to visas for highly skilled workers and pushing for energy independence to stay competitive in AI," Deutsche analysts note. 2) 'Safety moves down the agenda:' Trump's approach signals a pivot from Biden's AI safety initiatives, with a promise to repeal Biden's Executive Order on AI, which enforces stricter safety measures on developers. Trump's AI policy is likely to favor "little tech" startups, aiming to reduce regulatory burdens. According to Deutsche Bank, this could cement the US as the primary destination for tech companies, contrasting with the European Union's comprehensive AI regulations. 3) 'Regulators become more AI tech-friendly:' According to Deutsche Bank analysts, Trump's administration is expected to take a more hands-off approach to antitrust enforcement, particularly with tech giants. The former president has previously expressed reluctance to break up major companies, like Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, opting instead to "make sure it's more fair" rather than dismantle it. With Republican control in Congress, his administration may appoint officials to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DoJ) who lean pro-business, possibly relaxing scrutiny on tech mergers and easing regulatory pressures on the industry. Still, both regulators "have a busy docket of tech-related lawsuits that they are unlikely to abandon," analysts caution. "For example, the DoJ said last month it is considering a possible breakup of Alphabet's Google to end its search monopoly, and the FTC is suing Meta (NASDAQ META) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) for alleged monopolistic conduct," they pointed out. 4) 'Domestic chipmakers get preference:' Trump's view on chip production prioritizes domestic manufacturing, particularly as a counter to Taiwan's dominance in advanced AI chipmaking. He has criticized Taiwan's heavy involvement, which he perceives as a security risk. Trump's stance suggests that US-based firms like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) could see more government support, with potential tariffs and trade restrictions on Chinese imports. Tariffs on goods from China could reach as high as 60%, affecting vital tech components like gallium and germanium, minerals critical to chip production, which China largely controls. 5) 'Security moves up the agenda:' National security remains a central pillar of Trump's AI strategy, particularly regarding relations with China. His administration is likely to extend and intensify Biden's export controls, preventing Chinese access to advanced AI technologies and semiconductors. Trump's prior measures, like placing Huawei on the US Entity List, underline his stance on limiting China's influence in sensitive tech areas. "Continued American leadership in AI is of paramount importance to maintaining the economic and national security of the United States," Trump stated in his initial executive order.

Donald Trump's View on AI Regulation Fuels Big Tech's UK Innovation Concerns

Trump's return to the White House is expected to result in a number of changes to the tech industry. Donald Trump's historic win against Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election could inaugurate a new chapter of unregulated AI development in the country. During his campaign, Trump vowed to reverse an executive order set by President Joe Biden that allowed for government oversight of AI companies. A potential removal of strict U.S. AI regulation could fuel the fire of Big Tech's warnings that British and European AI growth is falling behind. In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump offered no comprehensive overhaul of tech regulation except occasionally criticizing social media companies. However, the Biden administration made significant moves to regulate the development of emerging technologies, especially AI. In October 2023, Biden deployed an executive order that enabled the government to oversee and advise AI companies. "We will repeal Joe Biden's dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Left-wing ideas on the development of this technology," Trump's manifesto read. "In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing," it said. Big Tech's AI Warning to U.K. and EU A potentially unregulated AI future for America could help widen the lead in innovation ahead of the U.K. and the EU. Big Tech giants have been publicly warning that the EU and Britain could be falling behind the States in its development of AI. Facebook and Instagram owner Meta shared several public warnings that Europe was falling behind. "We're trading on past glories; none of the world's top 10 start-up ecosystems are in Europe," said Meta's head of global affairs Nick Clegg. "Given that AI offers such a huge potential to lift economic performance, it seems to us it's pretty damn important if it can play such a crucial role in lifting the fortunes of Europe that it should be as widely accessible as possible," he added. Just one month later, Meta's Vice President of Privacy and Public Policy, Rob Sherman, claimed the EU was prioritizing regulation over innovation. "If jurisdictions can't regulate in a way that enables us to have clarity on what's expected, then it's going to be harder for us to offer the most advanced technologies in those places," Sherman told The Financial Times. Amanda Brock, CEO of open technology advocate OpenUK, told CCN that Britain's "position in AI has slipped" and believes the country needs to align with America's AI stance. "What we know is that alignment with the U.S.'s AI lead will be needed to be impactful, and that is likely to be, at best, light touch and undoubtedly open," Brock said. How Will Trump Impact the U.K.'s Tech Sector? The return of Trump to the White House will likely bring many changes as the new government moves away from the ideals of the Biden administration. Trump has historically taken a more protectionist stance on trade, sometimes increasing tariffs and renegotiating trade agreements. Adopting a similar approach in his second term could complicate trade between the U.S. and the U.K., particularly for technology products and services. However, in April, Robert Greenway, Trump's former deputy assistant on the National Security Council, said that a U.K.-U.S. trade deal would be "a priority" for his administration. Speaking to Politico , Greenway added: "I think it's in both of our interests to do so." Trump's previous administration also focused heavily on fostering domestic technology development. If a second Trump administration prioritizes American tech development through incentives or subsidies, U.K. and EU firms could find competing for U.S. partnerships and funding harder.

AI Bros Terrified Singularity Will Hit While Trump Is President

With Donald Trump the definitive winner of the 2024 election, artificial intelligence bros seem equal parts stoked and terrified about the technology reaching human-level intelligence -- or beyond -- under his second presidency. Despite the president-elect's confused-sounding declaration that "super-duper AI" is "alarming and scary" during a podcast appearance over the summer, many believe that with his running mate JD Vance and money man Elon Musk at the helm of AI policy, loosened regulations could lead to artificial general intelligence (AGI) being ushered in during Trump's second term. Whether that's good, bad, or neutral depends on the perspective of the commentator. "By many estimates," tweeted OpenAI staffer Steven Heidel cryptically, "Trump will be the AGI president." Over on Reddit, things seemed a lot more black-and-white, as AI bros lamented the idea of the world-changing tech emerging under the tenure of a politician motivated with little understanding of technical topics and who's largely motivated by grievances, power and score-settling. "There's a nonzero chance that AGI will happen during what is increasingly looking to be Trump's second term as President," a user posted on r/Singularity, seemingly before Kamala Harris conceded. "If ever there was a combination of circumstances that screamed Apocalypse in giant neon letters this is it." "Dudes like Elon and [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] will have a say in AGI if it's achieved under Trump," another responded. "There is no real good way to spin this. [I'd] rather have an uncontrolled AGI." As yet another user pointed out, Vance being a heartbeat away from the presidency is all the more worrisome given that he's boosted by notorious ideologue Peter Thiel, who recently told a crowd at Cambridge University that he's more concerned about government regulation of any imminent AGI than the technology itself. Notably, Trump has already declared that he's planning to repeal outgoing President Joe Biden's restrictions on AI -- making the prospect of the tech running amok under his tenure all the more real. This entire prospect hinges, of course, on AGI actually coming about during the next four-odd years -- a timeline that even Thiel would likely reject based on his own predictions of the technology becoming "super dominant" in a few decades. But if it does, as another user noted in a since-deleted post on r/Singularity, Trump's second term may well "shift the [artificial superintelligence] future into [a] dystopia, not a utopia."

How will Donald Trump approach AI this time around? His first term offers clues

Generative AI wasn't part of the lexicon for most of us during President-elect Donald Trump's first four years in the White House. That all changed in late 2022, when the launch of ChatGPT kicked off an investment boom into artificial intelligence that continues to this day. Now, after Trump this week defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to return to the Oval Office, one of the key questions facing investors is how the businessman-turned-politician will handle the rapid innovation in AI, a key driver of the two-year bull market. Given Trump didn't focus on AI policy during his 2024 campaign, one place to look for answers is his first term in office.

What Donald Trump's Win Means For AI

When Donald Trump was last President, ChatGPT had not yet been launched. Now, as he prepares to return to the White House after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, the artificial intelligence landscape looks quite different. AI systems are advancing so rapidly that some leading executives of AI companies, such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and a prominent Trump backer, believe AI may become smarter than humans by 2026. Others offer a more general timeframe. In an essay published in September, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, "It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days," but also noted that "it may take longer." Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees the arrival of these systems as more of a gradual process rather than a single moment. Either way, such advances could have far-reaching implications for national security, the economy, and the global balance of power. Read More: When Might AI Outsmart Us? It Depends Who You Ask Trump's own pronouncements on AI have fluctuated between awe and apprehension. In a June interview on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, he described AI as a "superpower" and called its capabilities "alarming." And like many in Washington, he views the technology through the lens of competition with China, which he sees as the "primary threat" in the race to build advanced AI. Yet even his closest allies are divided on how to govern the technology: Musk has long voiced concerns about AI's existential risks, while J.D. Vance, Trump's Vice President, sees such warnings from industry as a ploy to usher regulations that would "entrench the tech incumbents." These divisions among Trump's confidants hint at the competing pressures that will shape AI policy during Trump's second term. Undoing Biden's AI legacy Trump's first major AI policy move will likely be to repeal President Joe Biden's Executive Order on AI. The sweeping order, signed in October 2023, sought to address threats the technology could pose to civil rights, privacy, and national security, while promoting innovation, competition, and the use of AI for public services. Trump promised to repeal the Executive Order on the campaign trail in December 2023, and this position was reaffirmed in the Republican Party platform in July, which criticized the executive order for hindering innovation and imposing "radical leftwing ideas" on the technology's development. Read more: Republicans' Vow to Repeal Biden's AI Executive Order Has Some Experts Worried Sections of the Executive Order which focus on racial discrimination or inequality are "not as much Trump's style," says Dan Hendrycks, executive and research director of the Center for AI Safety. While experts have criticized any rollback of bias protections, Hendrycks says the Trump Administration may preserve other aspects of Biden's approach. "I think there's stuff in [the Executive Order] that's very bipartisan, and then there's some other stuff that's more specifically Democrat-flavored," Hendrycks says. "It would not surprise me if a Trump executive order on AI maintained or even expanded on some of the core national security provisions within the Biden Executive Order, building on what the Department of Homeland Security has done for evaluating cybersecurity, biological, and radiological risks associated with AI," says Samuel Hammond, a senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, a technology-focused think tank. The fate of the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI), an institution created last November by the Biden Administration to lead the government's efforts on AI safety, also remains uncertain. In August, the AISI signed agreements with OpenAI and Anthropic to formally collaborate on AI safety research, and on the testing and evaluation of new models. "Almost certainly, the AI Safety Institute is viewed as an inhibitor to innovation, which doesn't necessarily align with the rest of what appears to be Trump's tech and AI agenda," says Keegan McBride, a lecturer in AI, government, and policy at the Oxford Internet Institute. But Hammond says that while some fringe voices would move to shutter the institute, "most Republicans are supportive of the AISI. They see it as an extension of our leadership in AI." Read more: What Trump's Win Means for Crypto Congress is already working on protecting the AISI. In October, a broad coalition of companies, universities, and civil society groups -- including OpenAI, Lockheed Martin, Carnegie Mellon University, and the nonprofit Encode Justice -- signed a letter calling on key figures in Congress to urgently establish a legislative basis for the AISI. Efforts are underway in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and both reportedly have "pretty wide bipartisan support," says Hamza Chaudhry, U.S. policy specialist at the nonprofit Future of Life Institute. America-first AI and the race against China Trump's previous comments suggest that maintaining the U.S.'s lead in AI development will be a key focus for his Administration."We have to be at the forefront," he said on the Impaulsive podcast in June. "We have to take the lead over China." Trump also framed environmental concerns as potential obstacles, arguing they could "hold us back" in what he views as the race against China. Trump's AI policy could include rolling back regulations to accelerate infrastructure development, says Dean Ball, a research fellow at George Mason University. "There's the data centers that are going to have to be built. The energy to power those data centers is going to be immense. I think even bigger than that: chip production," he says. "We're going to need a lot more chips." While Trump's campaign has at times attacked the CHIPS Act, which provides incentives for chip makers manufacturing in the U.S, leading some analysts to believe that he is unlikely to repeal the act. Read more: What Donald Trump's Win Means for the Economy Chip export restrictions are likely to remain a key lever in U.S. AI policy. Building on measures he initiated during his first term -- which were later expanded by Biden -- Trump may well strengthen controls that curb China's access to advanced semiconductors. "It's fair to say that the Biden Administration has been pretty tough on China, but I'm sure Trump wants to be seen as tougher," McBride says. It is "quite likely" that Trump's White House will "double down" on export controls in an effort to close gaps that have allowed China to access chips, says Scott Singer, a visiting scholar in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The overwhelming majority of people on both sides think that the export controls are important," he says. The rise of open-source AI presents new challenges. China has shown it can leverage U.S. systems, as demonstrated when Chinese researchers reportedly adapted an earlier version of Meta's Llama model for military applications. That's created a policy divide. "You've got people in the GOP that are really in favor of open-source," Ball says. "And then you have people who are 'China hawks' and really want to forbid open-source at the frontier of AI." "My sense is that because a Trump platform has so much conviction in the importance and value of open-source I'd be surprised to see a movement towards restriction," Singer says. Despite his tough talk, Trump's deal-making impulses could shape his policy towards China. "I think people misunderstand Trump as a China hawk. He doesn't hate China," Hammond says, describing Trump's "transactional" view of international relations. In 2018, Trump lifted restrictions on Chinese technology company ZTE in exchange for a $1.3 billion fine and increased oversight. Singer sees similar possibilities for AI negotiations, particularly if Trump accepts concerns held by many experts about AI's more extreme risks, such as the chance that humanity may lose control over future systems. Read more: U.S. Voters Value Safe AI Development Over Racing Against China, Poll Shows Trump's coalition is divided over AI Debates over how to govern AI reveal deep divisions within Trump's coalition of supporters. Leading figures, including Vance, favor looser regulations of the technology. Vance has dismissed AI risk as an industry ploy to usher in new regulations that would "make it actually harder for new entrants to create the innovation that's going to power the next generation of American growth." Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who served on Trump's 2016 transition team, recently cautioned against movements to regulate AI. Speaking at the Cambridge Union in May, he said any government with the authority to govern the technology would have a "global totalitarian character." Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, gave $2.5 million to a pro-Trump super political action committee, and an additional $844,600 to Trump's campaign and the Republican Party. Yet, a more safety-focused perspective has found other supporters in Trump's orbit. Hammond, who advised on the AI policy committee for Project 2025, a proposed policy agenda led by right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, and not officially endorsed by the Trump campaign, says that "within the people advising that project, [there was a] very clear focus on artificial general intelligence and catastrophic risks from AI." Musk, who has emerged as a prominent Trump campaign ally through both his donations and his promotion of Trump on his platform X (formerly Twitter), has long been concerned that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity. Recently, Musk said he believes there's a 10% to 20% chance that AI "goes bad." In August, Musk posted on X supporting the now-vetoed California AI safety bill that would have put guardrails on AI developers. Hendrycks, whose organization co-sponsored the California bill, and who serves as safety adviser at xAI, Musk's AI company, says "If Elon is making suggestions on AI stuff, then I expect it to go well." However, "there's a lot of basic appointments and groundwork to do, which makes it a little harder to predict," he says. Trump has acknowledged some of the national security risks of AI. In June, he said he feared deepfakes of a U.S. President threatening a nuclear strike could prompt another state to respond, sparking a nuclear war. He also gestured to the idea that an AI system could "go rogue" and overpower humanity, but took care to distinguish this position from his personal view. However, for Trump, competition with China appears to remain the primary concern. Read more: Trump Worries AI Deepfakes Could Trigger Nuclear War But these priorities aren't necessarily at odds and AI safety regulation does not inherently entail ceding ground to China, Hendrycks says. He notes that safeguards against malicious use require minimal investment from developers. "You have to hire one person to spend, like, a month or two on engineering, and then you get your jailbreaking safeguards," he says. But with these competing voices shaping Trump's AI agenda, the direction of Trump's AI policy agenda remains uncertain. "In terms of which viewpoint President Trump and his team side towards, I think that is an open question, and that's just something we'll have to see," says Chaudhry. "Now is a pivotal moment."

What will Trump 2.0 mean for US tech?

Washington (AFP) - What will Donald Trump's second stint in the White House mean for a US tech industry in the throes of an artificial intelligence frenzy? For sure Elon Musk, the world's richest person, will play a central role in Trump's Silicon Valley policies after backing the Republican's presidential campaign. "A star is born: Elon!" Trump said in a lengthy shoutout to the Tesla and SpaceX boss during his victory speech after Tuesday's election. Musk is slated to take a significant role in the White House, where he will likely have influence over the regulation of tech, including in matters related to his companies Tesla, SpaceX and the X platform (formerly Twitter). At Musk's side, will likely be a group of tech "accelerationists", members of Silicon Valley's more libertarian right-wing, who want innovation to thrive unfettered by the government. Unlike their early caution during Trump's first term, tech titans were swift to laud the president-elect on his victory. "Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory," wrote Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on X. Bezos had already signaled his shifting position by directing The Washington Post, which he owns, to refrain from endorsing Kamala Harris -- a move widely interpreted as an attempt to avoid potential friction with a returning Trump administration. Apple boss Tim Cook sent his congratulations, as did Mark Cuban, a tech billionaire backer of Harris, who said Trump won the election "fair and square." Meta supremo Mark Zuckerberg congratulated Trump too and has spent the past months, carefully trying to rebuild a relationship with the president-elect, who often singles out the Facebook founder for his vitriol. Policy-wise the tech titans will be united in wanting to see the departure of Lina Khan, the head of the Federal Trade Commission, who has pursued a policy of slowing the unrestricted spread of their tech empires. An early target of Trump's attention could be the executive order from President Joe Biden on regulating artificial intelligence. The order sets voluntary standards for AI safety, emphasizing privacy protection, fighting bias and offers guidelines on how AI can be deployed by the government. It also established the US AI Safety Institute (AISI), a body to study risks in AI systems. The order could be overhauled or rubbished, with Trump sympathetic to arguments that innovation should not be constrained by rules. Crypto craze Trump will almost certainly make it easier for cryptocurrencies to thrive after tech moguls closely linked to the industry donated generously to his campaign. Crypto markets surged higher after his win, with bitcoin hitting a new all-time-high above $75,000. During his presidency Trump referred to cryptocurrencies as a scam, but has since radically changed his position, even launching his own crypto product. He will try to remove Gary Gensler, the crypto-skeptic head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has become a loathed bogeyman for the sector. The troubled fate of TikTok could change, with Trump having voiced opposition to a Biden-backed law, ordering that the popular app divest from Bytedance, its Chinese owner. TikTok has until January to find a buyer or face the ban, but Trump opposes it, saying it would only boost Instagram and Facebook, which he believes treat him unfairly. Trump has also expressed intentions to dismantle the CHIPS Act, replacing Biden's manufacturing subsidies with aggressive tariffs designed to force companies to build in the US. Industry analyst Jack Gold cautioned against this approach, noting that "tariffs alone will not work to bring back US chip production.... Tariffs are a penalty, while the CHIPS act is an incentive." A looming trade war with China also looms. The share price in Apple didn't see the share price jumps seen on Wall Street more broadly after the Trump win with questions over its dependence on Chinese factories to build iPhones.

Trump 2.0 will have a massive impact on AI, chips and other crucial tech issues

Donald Trump's re-election as U.S. president will have massive repercussions for the technology sector. It is always risky to make predictions, and that holds particularly true when the main character involved is someone prone to surprising, rash, and often erratic decision-making, and who has a track record of being easily swayed by whoever has his ear at the moment. But Trump has expressed views on a variety of important tech topics, and it is also reasonable to take into account the views and motivations of key advisors including Elon Musk, who has emerged in the last few months of the presidential campaign as one of Trump's most important and trusted allies. So here is a quick rundown of what Trump 2.0 probably means for issues such as AI, antitrust, and semiconductors. Apart from Trump's near-certain deregulation of cryptocurrencies -- the crypto markets are furiously celebrating his victory -- the likeliest thing that will happen in January would be the removal of Lina Khan as head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which enforces the U.S.'s antitrust laws. Khan, a Biden appointee, brought a radical interpretation of antitrust to the agency -- essentially, she updated its traditional focus on artificially high prices as the primary gauge of consumer harm for an age in which people use many tech services for free, and the providers of those services can amass and abuse outsized power in other ways. Khan made her name with a student article attacking Amazon, and has been an unusually aggressive enforcer. Big Tech and other megacorporations hate her, and Elon Musk has called for her firing. (Khan's term as FTC Chair formally ended on September 26, but Commission Chairs can continue to serve until the President appoints a replacement who is confirmed by the Senate.) So although incoming vice-president JD Vance is a fan, Khan will probably go and the FTC will change again -- but it is not yet clear how much that will temper the agency's aggression. Some of its most consequential ongoing cases, including a Meta case that could theoretically lead to the unwinding of its Instagram and WhatsApp purchases, were initiated during the first Trump administration. Trump this year called Facebook "an enemy of the people," though CEO Mark Zuckerberg then went out of his way to appear neutral during the election. Trump's first FTC also sued Google over its search monopoly, resulting this year in a landmark ruling against the company. Biden's Justice Department is considering pushing for a Google breakup as a result, and Trump's second administration could well continue down that path. Trump recently called Google "rigged", but he hasn't said whether he will pursue a breakup. The FTC also recently won the right to proceed with an antitrust suit against Amazon for "suppressed competition and higher prices for shoppers and sellers." Amazon and Trump famously tangled during his first administration, but chairman and founder Jeff Bezos recently stopped his Washington Post from endorsing Kamala Harris, in a move widely seen as an attempt to appease Trump. Khan's FTC has also been investigating the largest AI players -- such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia -- to see if their whirlwind dealmaking has broken antitrust laws. These efforts are unlikely to continue as Trump returns. Trump is no fan of regulating AI companies, and the same can be said for backers like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Trump's campaign manifesto included a pledge to repeal Biden's 2023 executive order on AI, which was a first step towards regulating against multiple AI risks -- according to Trump, these were "Radical Leftwing ideas." "I fear that [Trump's return] will lead to further deregulation of the tech sector resulting in detrimental impact on human rights worldwide," said Professor Sandra Wachter of the Oxford Internet Institute, a leading figure in the study of tech and regulation. "I worry about unsafe, inaccurate, biased and opaque AI used for hiring, school admission, loan decisions and healthcare," she said. "I worry about the fast spread of misinformation, hate speech and toxic content on the Internet. I worry that AI will replace and displace many jobs and workers. The impact on the climate change can also not be overestimated since the development of AI costs an unimaginable number of resources." In the area of AI -- as well as those of electric vehicles, space flight, and biotech -- Elon Musk is likely to prove influential. Trump intends to put Musk in charge of reorganizing the U.S. government, which could provide opportunities for Musk's xAI and his other companies. (Tesla's share price leapt by more than 10% in response to the election result, despite the prospect of Musk being spread even more thinly than he already is.) Meta this week also announced a big push to get the U.S. military and other government agencies using its Llama AI models; the future of that push is now in doubt. Musk's ongoing feud with OpenAI may also now disadvantage that firm, though Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is the brother of Josh Kushner, whose Thrive Capital is a major and longstanding OpenAI investor. (Jared sold his Thrive stake during the first Trump administration, in which he played a part.) Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, has also made enthusiastic comments about the views of former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, who has warned about security lapses at OpenAI and other top AI labs, who believes that artificial general intelligence (AGI, a theoretical AI superintelligence) will emerge within the next few years, and who has called for a Manhattan Project-like U.S. effort to develop AGI before China does. Zooming out to a wider geopolitical view, Trump's isolationist tendencies may give China more scope to exert its own influence around the world -- perhaps promoting Chinese AI in the bargain. The way Trump handles China will also determine the near-term future of the chip industry, with knock-on effects on everything from AI to automotive. Although Biden and the Democrats have also been tough on China, curbing the export of the most poweful AI chips to the country and trying hard to kill China's ability to make its own advanced chips using Western technology, Trump could well ignite a full-scale trade war with China. This would clearly impact Apple and other Big Tech firms that lean heavily on Chinese production, and it would also prove problematic for Taiwan, the chipmaking powerhouse that relies on its unfriendly neighbor for key materials. It remains to be seen how Trump addresses China's longstanding desire to invade and annex Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province. He has signaled a potential reduction in U.S. military support for Taiwan, describing the U.S. as an "insurance company" in this context, and there are widespread concerns that he may treat Taiwan as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with China. Again, if Taiwan becomes part of China, that would utterly reshape the chip industry. Meanwhile, Trump has derided Biden's CHIPS Act, which provides heavy incentives for chipmakers to set up manufacturing on U.S. soil, as "so bad." He explained last week that he finds tariffs preferable as a means of countering China -- although importers rather than exporters have to pay tariffs, so it remains unclear how Trump's policy would accomplish his stated aim. Also on the subject of China, Trump has changed his mind on the banning of TikTok, which he favored during his first term. Earlier this year, after meeting with Republican megadonor and TikTok investor Jeff Yass, he came out against a bipartisan, Biden-backed push to force China's ByteDance to sell TikTok or see it banned in the U.S. That bill passed anyway, and the clock is now ticking for ByteDance, but Trump -- who joined TikTok in June -- could change that. Trump also tried to roll back parts of a key law known as Section 230 during his first term, though Biden cancelled his executive order on the subject. Section 230 of the Communications Act gives social media firms immunity for the content their users post, and for the way they moderate that content. As such, it is is seen as essential by Silicon Valley, but Republican lawmakers have targeted it for protecting social platforms when they remove right-wing disinformation and hate speech. The tech industry has been nervous about what Trump, who now has his own social network in the form of Truth Social, might do about Section 230 the second time around. They will soon find out. Meanwhile, social media firms should also keep an eye on how the Trump administration's conduct affects their ability to easily serve users in Europe. Luckily for them, EU privacy watchdogs yesterday published a report approving of how the U.S. has been implementing a data-sharing agreement called the Data Privacy Framework -- the third deal of its kind, after the EU's top court sunk the previous two over U.S. intelligence's access to Europeans' U.S.-held data. But the watchdogs will review it again in a few years, and the deal is still likely to face its own legal challenge in Europe, so any misuse of U.S. intelligence agencies' data troves by the Trump administration would count against the framework's survival.

Musk's AI Nightmares Could Blunt Trump's Tech Ambitions

President-elect Donald Trump didn't talk a great deal about artificial intelligence while on the campaign trail, which is odd. Voters liked the potential improvements he could bring to the economy and inflation, yet AI could displace many jobs and a third of Americans believe it will do more harm than good, according to Gallup. If Trump's silence means he doesn't care much about AI, that leaves the door open for policy to be steered by other key players in his administration, particularly Elon Musk. AI has long been a major focus for Musk. He was an early investor in Google's DeepMind, co-founded OpenAI and now runs xAI, which has raised more than $6 billion to build powerful AI models.

What a second Trump presidency means for big US tech firms

Instant boom enjoyed by some sectors belies complex decisions to be made on AI, monopolies and social media When the US election result pushed shares in the artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia to a record high and did the same to the price of bitcoin cryptocurrency, the market gave its verdict on what Trump redux means for at least parts of the technology world - a boom. Stock in the electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla surged by nearly 15%, which must have cheered its boss, Elon Musk, whom Trump called a "super genius" on Wednesday. But what about the people who do not own stock in Silicon Valley firms, but do use their products? Tens of millions of users of Musk's social media platform, X, will now have to decide if they are willing to post in a place owned by a figure who looks set to be a central part of Trump's administration. Musk could be tasked with "making recommendations for drastic reforms" aimed at the efficiency and performance of "the entire federal government", Trump had said. This could grant him huge power over the agencies that regulate his and other tech companies. X had already become, according to the independent tech analyst Benedict Evans, "a coordinating site for misinformation" and many felt its amplification of false claims polluted the election. Might a Trump administration then do anything about misinformation on social media? "He won't," said Evans. "He likes misinformation. There is a widespread view in tech that content moderation got out of hand and we need to pull back on this. At most you might need to think about amplification [of misinformation] but not deleting stuff." So expect a wilder ride on social platforms, perhaps, as they pitch towards the right. The 47th president will have a key role steering some hugely consequential years for the development of AI and handling the tech oligarchy of the big five firms - Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon - which wield the data and processing power that shapes the social and economic lives of billions. Here, where issues of competition, freedom of expression and national security are at stake, Trump's gushing admiration for Musk masks a more complex attitude. As a populist railing against elites, Trump might be expected to try to bring down tech monopolies. It was under Trump's first presidency that the Justice Department began an investigation into Google resulting in a case against the firm for suppressing competition. During the election, Trump called Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, to complain that the company's search engine was not surfacing enough good news stories and he threatened to have the justice department prosecute the firm for election interference. He also threatened to jail Mark Zuckerberg if Facebook did "anything illegal" in the campaign. "He has, at least through people that he appointed, a record of being tough on tech in terms of competition issues," said Prof Rebecca Haw Allensworth, associate dean at Vanderbilt University law school. "Since then, we've seen him cosying up to tech in general, and Elon Musk in particular. So that cuts the other way." Trump will probably take office with cases under way challenging the market power of several big tech firms, spearheaded by the anti-monopoly chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan. Many expect she will be fired. Yet Trump's vice-president pick, JD Vance, has voiced support for aspects of her monopoly-busting approach. He said during the campaign he shared "her view that we should be concerned about big tech companies and some of the mergers that lead to the censorship of American citizens." Trump also thinks the tech giants give the US global clout, at a time when AI is becoming a matter of national security. "China is afraid of Google," Trump said last month when he questioned whether a corporate split of Google could "destroy the company". "What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it's more fair," he said. "We want to have great companies," he said. "We don't want China to have these companies." Other dilemmas: should he make it harder for China to build the high-powered microchips needed for AI? Should AI code remain open source to encourage innovation among smaller companies or does that simply gift computing power to geo-political rivals. He said he would "save TikTok" after a ruling that its Chinese owners must sell it if it is to continue in the US, but the trade-offs are everywhere. In other areas, any Trump plan to cut incentives for EV manufacturers would be "an overall negative for the EV industry" said Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush, an LA financial services firm. This would probably help Musk's Tesla because its existing competitive advantage would be exaggerated if its rivals were hobbled. There are reports Trump may only tweak the subsidies rather than scrap them. If Trump's trade tariffs limit imports of cheaper Chinese EVs, that would further help Musk. Previously sceptical, Trump is also now supportive of cryptocurrency, with that industry hoping, after making big donations to the Trump campaign, that regulation gets lighter. Crypto-linked stocks in Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings have jumped between 11% and 21%.

Trump's victory will benefit Elon Musk and xAI

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Disclaimer: I voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and stand by my choice. Republican politician and businessman Donald J. Trump has won the 2024 U.S. presidential election in a strong political comeback, despite various pre-election polls showing him neck-and-neck with his opponent Kamala Harris (the current and now outgoing Vice President, a Democrat). As many who follow the news know all too well, one of his most outspoken allies in this election was none other six-company owner/operator and technology multibillionaire Elon Musk, who committed tens of millions in funding to a political action committee advocating Trump's re-election. All of Musk's technology companies stand to benefit from Trump's return to office Musk owns or operates the following companies, all of which stand to benefit from Trump retaking power: xAI may benefit and move from being a runner-up in the AI race to a leader But most importantly of all, xAI, Musk's AI startup offshoot of X designed to rival his former company OpenAI, is now likely to become far more of a viable alternative to the U.S. government and military as a contractor and AI technology services provider. Already, the U.S. government has been courted by and is reportedly working with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta to integrate generative AI models into various departments. However, now that Musk helped propel Trump to a victory, expect xAI to join in the list of federally approved AI vendors and possibly even preferred AI vendors -- though of course, the government is technically supposed to remain vendor-neutral for companies operating within the U.S., signing contracts based on request-for-proposals and the businesses' fitness for the job. xAI will also likely benefit from repealed Biden-era AI Executive Order Yet as AI influencer Andrew Curran noted on Musk's X network this morning, another direct outcome of Trump reassuming the White House come January 2025 (when he is to be sworn in) is a strong likelihood -- outlined in the Republican Party election platform -- of the repeal of outgoing President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) on AI, which Biden issued in October 2023 and requires developers of powerful foundation models to share safety test results and other critical information with the US government and subjects companies training AI models to red-teaming exercises by the federal agency The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While many in the AI industry and outside of it applauded this order as a means of ensuring safety of AI deployments on American and global society, some analysts suggested it could lead to undermining U.S. AI competitiveness on the global stage, both in the commercial (direct-to-consumer and business-to-business) marketplace and the military arena. As such, with the likely repeal of this EO come January 2025 or early 2025, it could aid xAI and its competitors in shipping new models faster -- though as we've seen with xAI's Grok-2 and its permissive image generation feature, that can also lead to a rise in deepfakes and other wild, offensive, but also creative and imaginative AI imagery. Either way, things are looking good for Musk's companies and xAI in particular - and that may help the company's models become more enticing to developers and business customers.

Tech leaders congratulate Trump on winning 2024 election, pledge to work together on innovation

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Tech leaders said they are ready to work with the new Trump administration, stating that American leadership in AI and the government's focus on tech policies must be ensured. Throughout the campaign, Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, presented a tech industry-friendly approach and courted personalities like Elon Musk to shore up support from the sector. AI companies, like Musk's xAI, could greatly benefit from this more tech-focused administration, especially if the Biden administration's flagship AI executive order is repealed. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman congratulated Trump, adding, "It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values." Greg Brockman, OpenAI president, echoed the same sentiment, pointing out that he believes it is with technology and AI that the country can "continue to lead the world and protect democratic values." Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas also took to social media to offer his congratulations. "USA is the land of dreams, opportunity and competition. Look forward to working with the new government to improve how people search for information online with AI," he said. Srinivas also touted Perplexity's election information hub. According to Srinivas, around 10% of Perplexity usage on November 5 revolved around the elections. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, said the US is undergoing a "golden age of innovation." Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is starting to roll out more AI features on its devices, also promised to work with the administration. LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, an outspoken supporter of Kamala Harris, expressed the need to "get to the hard work of bridging divisions and ensuring that all Americans can enjoy safe, secure, and prosperous futures." Change in policies The Biden administration has been vocal in seeking to support AI innovation with balancing privacy protections, culminating in the AI executive order in October last year. Since then, the government began looking into the potential dangers of open-weight models and asked companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to submit their unreleased AI models for safety evaluations. Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran against Trump instead of President Joe Biden, represented the US in international gatherings on AI safety and regulation. Tech companies faced scrutiny during the Biden administration as the government put forward several anti-trust cases. The Department of Justice, after winning its monopoly case against Google, put forward a potential plan to break up the tech giant. Game company Epic won against Google, accusing the search giant of monopoly. Epic's lawsuit against Apple, however, failed. The DOJ filed a separate antitrust case against Apple in March. A more tech-friendly administration may mean a less litigious DOJ or Federal Trade Commission and fewer antitrust lawsuits, though Trump previously sued tech companies in his first term.

Tech Giants Brace for AI Revamp, Antitrust Pullback in Trump 2.0

Silicon Valley is bracing for a vastly different relationship with the US government as Donald Trump returns to the White House with promises to undo many of his predecessor's policies and Elon Musk poised to play an influential role. On artificial intelligence, Trump has vowed to rip up an executive order from President Joe Biden aimed at putting safety guardrails on the emerging technology. In antitrust, the new administration is expected to seek a lighter touch with merger oversight, while on semiconductors, the president-elect has expressed misgivings about a bipartisan program using government investment to boost domestic chip production.

How a new Trump administration will treat the budding AI industry

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company's weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. A second Trump administration will almost certainly reduce the government's role in overseeing the burgeoning AI industry. Past statements and events give clues to what a Trump regulatory regime might look like. When he was last in the White House, Trump did issue a few executive orders on AI. The first came in 2019 with the American AI Initiative, a vague and aspirational document that called on government agencies to study and invest in AI solutions, to develop plans to retrain the national workforce for AI jobs, establish safety standards, and engage with the international community on safe AI development. A second executive order issued the next year called on the government to build trust with the public by taking a "principled" approach to its application. But that was all before ChatGPT's public debut, which came when Joe Biden was in office. The release of OpenAI's marquee chatbot prompted Biden's October 2023 executive order outlining a safety framework to be used by AI developers, and giving the National Institute of Standards and Technology a larger role in fleshing out ris- mitigation standards. Biden's order also called on AI companies to share safety test results with the government, invoking the Defense Production Act.

Tech giants brace for AI revamp, antitrust pullback in Trump's second term

by Jackie Davalos, Leah Nylen and Mackenzie Hawkins, Bloomberg News Silicon Valley is bracing for a vastly different relationship with the U.S. government as Donald Trump returns to the White House with promises to undo many of his predecessor's policies, and Elon Musk poised to play an influential role. On artificial intelligence, Trump has vowed to rip up an executive order from President Joe Biden aimed at putting safety guardrails on the emerging technology. In antitrust, the new administration is expected to seek a lighter touch with merger oversight, while on semiconductors, the president-elect has expressed misgivings about a bipartisan program using government investment to boost domestic chip production. Industry leaders could see a reprise of the tense relations during Trump's first term, when he clashed with tech executives including Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, and cultivated cordial ties with others such as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Since leaving office, Trump has complained that Alphabet Inc.'s Google suppresses good news about him and has accused Meta Platforms Inc. of unfairly banning him from Facebook and Instagram in 2021. Trump had support from some of tech's biggest names, led by Musk, the world's richest man, who poured more than $130 million of his own money into a pro-Trump super-PAC and Republican congressional campaigns. Musk addressed a rally in Pennsylvania for Trump and used his ownership of X -- the social-media site formerly known as Twitter -- to amplify the Republican's message to hundreds of millions of users. Musk's proximity to the president-elect positions him to shape policies affecting his biggest ventures, including Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, potentially leaving his competitors in the electric-vehicle and space industries at a disadvantage in contracts and government oversight. Other tech billionaires found ways to boost their standing with Trump. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Trump's response to the July 13 assassination attempt "badass," while Facebook removed many of its guardrails aimed at combating misinformation. Washington Post owner Bezos spiked the newspaper's editorial endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris less than two weeks before the election. How much Trump can accomplish as president will depend on whether Republicans retain control of the House. They've already retaken the Senate from Democrats, making it easier for him to get his nominees confirmed. Here's a closer look at what tech can expect from the incoming Trump administration: Artificial intelligence Trump intends to replace the measure that Biden signed last year setting voluntary security and privacy guidelines for AI developers. That order sought more funding for AI research, gave the National Institute of Standards and Technology a larger role in crafting guidance to mitigate risk and created a new agency to test and evaluate AI models before they're released. While offering few specifics, the president-elect has called the Biden policy "dangerous" and claimed it hinders innovation. Trump has said he would replace it with "AI development rooted in free speech," echoing criticism from other Republicans of Biden's effort to ensure AI use is equitable and free from algorithmic bias. "In some right-wing policy circles, safety is seen as a synonym for censorship," said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Parts of Biden's AI agenda could survive, including his push for more AI infrastructure. The Trump campaign has highlighted the need to expand U.S. energy capacity to stay competitive in AI, which could result in loosened permitting hurdles for land and electricity usage, Allen said. Trump may seek to preserve Biden's recent memorandum making AI a national security priority and pressing agencies to maintain U.S. leadership by keeping the technology that underpins it away from adversaries like China. Trump could also take action through export controls that go further than Biden's current restrictions. It's not yet clear who Trump would appoint to lead AI policy. However, Vice President-elect JD Vance could play a major role, given his Silicon Valley experience. Vance has already expressed skepticism about regulation, arguing that guardrails would only tighten large AI companies' grip on the industry while stifling smaller startups. He has also supported open-source technology to guard against perceived left-wing bias in AI models. Antitrust enforcement A second Trump administration may be friendlier to business tie-ups, but is likely to keep up the aggressive pursuit of antitrust cases targeting Big Tech. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan will be asked to step down, making way for Trump to appoint a third Republican to the agency. In the meantime, he will likely select one of the agency's sitting GOP members -- Andrew Ferguson or Melissa Holyoak -- to serve as the acting chair. The Justice Department's top antitrust officials, including Biden appointee Jonathan Kanter, will also step aside, leaving the agency in the hands of career staff until Trump's picks take the helm. Both agencies are likely to continue lawsuits aimed at the tech giants. Some companies, such as Amazon.com, which faces an antitrust suit aimed at its core e-commerce business, may seek to settle with the new leaders. Other monopolization cases could see changes or settlements, including the Justice Department's lawsuits against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Visa Inc. Republicans at the FTC are also likely to pull back on the agency's rulemaking efforts, a priority under Khan that GOP members have staunchly opposed. Though it would be a drastic and unlikely move, the Trump administration could simply drop any Biden-era cases it doesn't like. The greatest shift may be in the agencies' approach to mergers. While the first Trump administration challenged some high-profile transactions, such as Visa's move to buy fintech startup Plaid Inc., it generally took a friendlier approach, often allowing major deals to move forward with conditions. Some major firms contemplating deals -- including Qualcomm Inc. and health insurance giants Cigna Group and Humana Inc. -- have delayed finalizing proposed transactions until after the election, hoping for a more favorable attitude under the new administration. Reversal on TikTok ban Trump has said he opposes banning TikTok, a reversal from his stance in his first term when he signed an executive order requiring the popular app to shut down unless its Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. divests. It's unclear how he would spare the platform from enforcement of a new federal law -- now tied up by a court challenge -- that would bar TikTok without a sale by Jan. 19, a day before his inauguration. The president-elect now sees the video-sharing app as a viable competitor to Meta, which drew his ire for barring him from its sites after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Americans are less supportive of a possible ban than they were a year ago, according to Pew Research data released in September that found only 32% in favor, down from 50% in March 2023. Semiconductors and export controls Trump's victory introduces significant uncertainty for U.S. semiconductor policy, which under Biden has included spending tens of billions on domestic chip manufacturing and using trade and investment restrictions to counter China's efforts in critical electronic components. The president-elect recently assailed the 2022 Chips and Science Act, a landmark bipartisan law that's accelerated investments from companies including Intel Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. -- the latter of which was announced during Trump's first term. He suggested that tariffs against foreign chipmakers would be more effective than direct subsidies to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing, raising fears in the industry that his administration may seek to change preliminary Chips Act awards. That adds to pressure on Biden administration officials who are seeking to reach binding agreements with companies before the president leaves office. On the international front, Trump has pledged sweeping tariffs on Chinese exports and would likely increase duties on older-generation chips, which Biden raised to 50%. He may also tighten export curbs on advanced semiconductors, a Biden measure that has roots in Trump's first administration, though diplomats and industry lobbyists are preparing for a range of possibilities given the transactional nature of Trump's foreign policy. Perhaps the biggest question is how Trump would approach Taiwan, the beating heart of the global chip industry. He has claimed Taiwan "stole" the U.S. semiconductor business and argued the island should pay more for its own security. The stakes are enormous: A Chinese invasion of Taiwan -- where more than 90% of advanced chips are produced -- would be a $10 trillion hit to the global economy, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics. 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

What a second Trump presidency could mean for big tech

On election night, as Republican Donald Trump inched closer to reclaiming the U.S. presidency, some tech executives and venture capitalists rejoiced. "The people of America gave@realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight," Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The eccentric billionaire, who shared a Photoshopped image of himself carrying a sink into the Oval Office, has been a vocal supporter of Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House. The 2024 U.S. presidential election has been a wild ride, highlighting a divide between venture capitalists and tech executives -- some of whom spent millions of dollars backing Trump while others poured money into Harris' campaign. Both sides argued the candidates they support would benefit the tech industry. Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie, who backed Harris and made the case the Democrat is pro-business, congratulated Trump on his win late Tuesday night. "What's great about America is that we're on a rocket ship right now and can keep accelerating with the right policies and execution," Levie posted on X. Musk stands to benefit from a second Trump presidency. He runs companies such as Tesla and SpaceX that hold billions of dollars in government contracts, but has also clashed with regulators. Trump said he would make Musk the head of a new "government efficiency commission," sparking concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Once critical of policies that benefit electric vehicles, Trump softened his tone after Musk endorsed him. Trump's and Harris' campaigns didn't respond to requests for comment. Here's how a Trump presidency could reshape the tech industry: Artificial intelligence Trump plans to repeal President Biden's 2023 AI executive order, which aims to ensure businesses develop technology responsibly because he thinks it hinders innovation. "In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing," according to a document that outlines policies he supports. There will probably be some form of AI regulation under Trump, analysts say, but exactly what that will look like is unclear. "Knowing what you're going to be dealing with really matters for the business community," said Todd O'Boyle, senior director of technology policy with the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry advocacy group. "We are entering really uncharted waters." Under Trump, there could be "rejuvenated interest" for state AI regulation, he said. In California, lawmakers proposed a slew of AI-related bills this year and O'Boyle expects that will continue. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1047, a hotly contested bill that aimed to require developers of advanced AI models to adopt safety measures. Trump could make a big push into AI innovation, analysts say. As the use of AI in the military rises, Trump's campaign says he would "invest in cutting edge research and advanced technologies" in part to modernize the military, which would benefit tech firms such as Palantir and Anduril Industries. Palmer Luckey, who founded Anduril Industries and supports Trump, urged his followers on X to "Pokemon Go to the polls." As Trump moved closer to victory on election night, Luckey posted a photo of Pokémon character Ash Ketchum with a tear (apparently of joy) streaming down his face. "When it comes to AI, what will rule is, if there's money to be made, it'll be supported," said Olaf Groth, faculty member at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and chief executive of think tank Cambrian Futures. Trump could also punish companies that cross him. His campaign has said he would pass a digital bill of rights and legislation to "drastically limit the ability of big social media platforms to restrict free speech." Trump, who operates his own social media platform, Truth Social, has been critical of Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms and Google, accusing them of censoring his speech, allegations they deny. Citing competition with China, Trump has proposed imposing tariffs so businesses prioritize American suppliers. In the past, tech titans such as Apple that rely heavily on China to manufacture products such as the iPhone and the Apple Watch have managed to get tariffs waived. O'Boyle said that the tech industry is "tariffs skeptical." "Tariffs are a tax on consumers," O'Boyle said. "It's hard to see how tariffs are going to address the economic challenges in the country. Tariffs slow trade. They create friction to trade." Cryptocurrency Some of Trump's vocal supporters include investors and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, and have accused the Biden administration of trying to destroy their industry. A Trump presidency is a "huge win for crypto," said Daniel Ives, a managing director at Wedbush Securities. The Biden administration has proposed tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency brokers and issued an executive order in 2022 to crack down on cryptocurrency scams, fraud and theft. The executive order also mentions exploring the creation of a digital U.S. dollar. In his policy document, Trump's campaign signaled he would be more friendly toward the cryptocurrency industry and roll back the Biden administration's actions. Republicans oppose the creation of a digital U.S. dollar. "To the extent that the Biden administration was skeptical of fintech and crypto, it's a reasonable bet that the Trump administration will reverse any fintech and crypto-skeptical policies that the Biden administration stood up," O'Boyle said. Antitrust and TikTok U.S. regulators have been trying to rein in the power of tech heavyweights such as Meta, Amazon and Google, which the U.S. government is considering breaking up after a federal judge declared that the search giant has an illegal monopoly on search. For all his concerns about the power of tech companies, Trump signaled he's wary about breaking up Google. In an October interview moderated by Bloomberg News, Trump said he would "do something" but stopped short of saying he would break up the search giant. "It's a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies," he said. "We don't want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google." Some tech industry observers expect that Trump will name a new Federal Trade Commission chair, pushing Lina Khan out of the role. The previous Trump administration pushed for Chinese tech company ByteDance to sell TikTok due to the U.S. government's security concerns with the popular video app's ties to China. Trump, who has raised free speech concerns about banning TikTok, might be open to allowing the tech platform to stay in the U.S. so it can compete with Google and Meta, analysts say. "The irony is, even though Trump started the TikTok ban narrative, he's changed his tune significantly and would actually support TikTok within the U.S. with restrictions, and any talk of a ban would actually dissipate for TikTok," Ives said. In a video posted on social media in September, Trump said, "We're not doing anything with TikTok." 2024 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Musk's influence on Trump could lead to tougher AI standards, says scientist

Tycoon might help president-elect realise race for artificial general intelligence is a 'suicide race', says Max Tegmark Elon Musk's influence on a Donald Trump administration could lead to tougher safety standards for artificial intelligence, according to a leading scientist who has worked closely with the world's richest person on addressing AI's dangers. Max Tegmark said Musk's support for a failed AI bill in California underlined the billionaire's continued concern over an issue that did not feature prominently in Trump's campaign. However, Musk has warned regularly that unrestrained development of AI - broadly, computer systems performing tasks that typically require human intelligence - could be catastrophic for humanity. Last year, he was one of more than 30,000 signatories to a letter calling for a pause in work on powerful AI technology. Speaking to the Guardian at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Tegmark said Musk, who is expected to be heavily influential in the president-elect's administration, could persuade Trump to introduce standards that prevent the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), the term for AI systems that match or exceed human levels of intelligence. "I do think that if Elon manages to get Trump's ear on AI issues we're more likely to get some form of safety standards, something that prevents AGI," he said. Tegmark, a professor specialising in AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, added: "He might help Trump understand that an AGI race is a suicide race." Tegmark said Musk's support for the SB 1047 bill in California, in the face of opposition from many of his tech peers, was a positive sign for AI safety campaigners. The bill, which required companies to stress-test large AI models before releasing them, was vetoed by the California governor, Gavin Newsom, after he said it could drive AI businesses from the state and hinder innovation. "Elon Musk came out and said I'm for it, I want the regulation. I do think it's not completely implausible he could persuade Trump that AI needs to be controlled," Tegmark said. Musk was an early supporter and financial backer of Tegmark's Future of Life Institute, which campaigns for safer use of cutting-edge technology. The Tesla chief executive and owner of X's personal fortune has swelled significantly since Trump's victory last week. Musk launched his own AI startup last year and said the world needed to worry about a "Terminator future" in order to head off the worst-case scenario of AI systems evading human control. Other AI professionals have argued that focusing on apocalyptic concerns distracts from focusing on short-term problems with AI systems, such as manipulated and misleading content. Trump has vowed to repeal a Biden administration executive order on AI safety; the Republican party's election platform described it as a set of restrictions that "imposes radical leftwing ideas on the development of this technology". The order includes requiring companies developing high-risk systems - AI models that pose a threat to national security, economic security or health and safety - to share their safety test results with the government.

Tech giants brace for AI revamp, antitrust pullback in Trump 2.0

By Jackie Davalos, Leah Nylen and Mackenzie Hawkins, Bloomberg News The Tribune Content Agency Silicon Valley is bracing for a vastly different relationship with the U.S. government as Donald Trump returns to the White House with promises to undo many of his predecessor's policies and Elon Musk poised to play an influential role. On artificial intelligence, Trump has vowed to rip up an executive order from President Joe Biden aimed at putting safety guardrails on the emerging technology. In antitrust, the new administration is expected to seek a lighter touch with merger oversight, while on semiconductors, the president-elect has expressed misgivings about a bipartisan program using government investment to boost domestic chip production. Industry leaders could see a reprise of the tense relations during Trump's first term, when he clashed with some tech executives including Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and cultivated cordial ties with others such as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Since leaving office, Trump has complained that Alphabet Inc.'s Google suppresses good news about him and accused Meta Platforms Inc. of unfairly banning him from Facebook and Instagram in 2021. Trump had support from some of tech's biggest names, led by Musk, the world's richest man, who poured more than $130 million of his own money into a pro-Trump super-PAC and Republican congressional campaigns. Musk addressed a rally in Pennsylvania for Trump and used his ownership of X - the social-media site formerly known as Twitter - to amplify the Republican's message to hundreds of millions of users. Musk's proximity to the president-elect positions him to shape policies affecting his biggest ventures, including Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, potentially leaving his competitors in the electric-vehicle and space industries at a disadvantage in contracts and government oversight. Other tech billionaires found ways to boost their standing with Trump. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Trump's response to the July 13 assassination attempt "badass," while Facebook removed many of its guardrails aimed at combating misinformation. Washington Post owner Bezos spiked the newspaper's editorial endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris less than two weeks before the election. How much Trump can accomplish as president will depend on whether Republicans retain control of the House. They've already retaken the Senate from Democrats, making it easier for him to get his nominees confirmed. Here's a closer look at what tech can expect from the incoming Trump administration: Artificial intelligence Trump intends to replace the measure that Biden signed last year setting voluntary security and privacy guidelines for AI developers. That order sought more funding for AI research, gave the National Institute of Standards and Technology a larger role in crafting guidance to mitigate risk and created a new agency to test and evaluate AI models before they're released. While offering few specifics, the president-elect has called the Biden policy "dangerous" and claimed it hinders innovation. Trump has said he would replace it with "AI development rooted in free speech," echoing criticism from other Republicans of Biden's effort to ensure AI use is equitable and free from algorithmic bias. "In some right-wing policy circles, safety is seen as a synonym for censorship," said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Parts of Biden's AI agenda could survive, including his push for more AI infrastructure. The Trump campaign has highlighted the need to expand U.S. energy capacity to stay competitive in AI, which could result in loosened permitting hurdles for land and electricity usage, Allen said. Trump may seek to preserve Biden's recent memorandum making AI a national security priority and pressing agencies to maintain U.S. leadership by keeping the technology that underpins it away from adversaries like China. Trump could also take action through export controls that go further than Biden's current restrictions. It's not yet clear who Trump would appoint to lead AI policy, however Vice President-elect JD Vance could play a major role, given his Silicon Valley experience. Vance has already expressed skepticism about regulation, arguing that guardrails would only tighten large AI companies' grip on the industry while stifling smaller startups. He's also supported open-source technology to guard against perceived left-wing bias in AI models. Antitrust enforcement A second Trump administration may be friendlier to business tie-ups, but is likely to keep up the aggressive pursuit of antitrust cases targeting Big Tech. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan will be asked to step down, making way for Trump to appoint a third Republican to the agency. In the meantime, he will likely select one of the agency's sitting GOP members - Andrew Ferguson or Melissa Holyoak - to serve as the acting chair. The Justice Department's top antitrust officials including Biden appointee Jonathan Kanter will also step aside, leaving the agency in the hands of career staff until Trump's picks take the helm. Both agencies are likely to continue lawsuits aimed at the tech giants. Some companies, such as Amazon.com, which faces an antitrust suit aimed at its core e-commerce business, may seek to settle with the new leaders. Other monopolization cases could see changes or settlements, including the Justice Department's lawsuits against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Visa Inc. Republicans at the FTC are also likely to pull back on the agency's rulemaking efforts, a priority under Khan that GOP members have staunchly opposed. Though it would be a drastic and unlikely move, a Trump administration could simply drop any Biden-era cases it doesn't like. The greatest shift may be in the agencies' approach to mergers. While the first Trump administration challenged some high-profile transactions, such as Visa's move to buy fintech startup Plaid Inc., it generally took a friendlier approach, often allowing major deals to move forward with conditions. Some major firms contemplating deals - including Qualcomm Inc. and health insurance giants Cigna Group and Humana Inc. - have delayed finalizing proposed transactions until after the election, hoping for a more favorable attitude under the new administration. Reversal on TikTok ban Trump has said he opposes banning TikTok, a reversal from his stance in his first term when he signed an executive order requiring the popular app to shut down unless its Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. divests. It's unclear how he would spare the platform from enforcement of a new federal law - now tied up by a court challenge - that would bar TikTok absent a sale by Jan. 19, a day before his inauguration. The president-elect now sees the video-sharing app as a viable competitor to Meta, which drew his ire for barring him from its sites after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Americans are less supportive of a possible ban than they were a year ago, according to Pew Research data released in September that found only 32% in favor, down from 50% in March 2023. Semiconductors and export controls Trump's victory introduces significant uncertainty for U.S. semiconductor policy, which under Biden has included spending tens of billions on domestic chip manufacturing and using trade and investment restrictions to counter China's efforts in critical electronic components. The president-elect recently assailed the 2022 Chips and Science Act, a landmark bipartisan law that's accelerated investments from companies including Intel Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. - the latter of which was announced during Trump's first term. He suggested that tariffs against foreign chipmakers would be more effective than direct subsidies to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing, raising fears in the industry that his administration may seek to change preliminary Chips Act awards. That adds to pressure on Biden administration officials who are seeking to reach binding agreements with companies before the president leaves office. On the international front, Trump has pledged sweeping tariffs on Chinese exports and would likely increase duties on older-generation chips, which Biden raised to 50%. He may also tighten export curbs on advanced semiconductors, a Biden measure that has roots in Trump's first administration, though diplomats and industry lobbyists are preparing for a range of possibilities given the transactional nature of Trump's foreign policy. Perhaps the biggest question is how Trump would approach Taiwan, the beating heart of the global chip industry. He's claimed Taiwan "stole" the U.S. semiconductor business and argued the island should pay more for its own security. The stakes are enormous: A Chinese invasion of Taiwan - where more than 90% of advanced chips are produced - would be a $10 trillion hit to the global economy, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics. (With assistance from Evan Gorelick and Josh Sisco.)

Elon Musk went all-in to elect Trump. What a second Trump presidency could mean for big tech

By Queenie Wong and Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times The Tribune Content Agency SAN FRANCISCO - On election night, as Republican Donald Trump inched closer to reclaiming the U.S. presidency, some tech executives and venture capitalists rejoiced. "The people of America gave@realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight," Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The eccentric billionaire, who shared a Photoshopped image of himself carrying a sink into the Oval Office, has been a vocal supporter of Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House. The 2024 U.S. presidential election has been a wild ride, highlighting a divide between venture capitalists and tech executives - some of whom spent millions of dollars backing Trump while others poured money into Harris' campaign. Both sides argued the candidates they support would benefit the tech industry. Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie, who backed Harris and made the case the Democrat is pro-business, congratulated Trump on his win late Tuesday night. "What's great about America is that we're on a rocket ship right now and can keep accelerating with the right policies and execution," Levie posted on X. Musk stands to benefit from a second Trump presidency. He runs companies such as Tesla and SpaceX that hold billions of dollars in government contracts, but has also clashed with regulators. Trump said he would make Musk the head of a new "government efficiency commission," sparking concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Once critical of policies that benefit electric vehicles, Trump softened his tone after Musk endorsed him. Trump's and Harris' campaigns didn't respond to requests for comment. Here's how a Trump presidency could reshape the tech industry: Artificial intelligence Trump plans to repeal President Biden's 2023 AI executive order, which aims to ensure businesses develop technology responsibly because he thinks it hinders innovation. "In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing," according to a document that outlines policies he supports. There will probably be some form of AI regulation under Trump, analysts say, but exactly what that will look like is unclear. "Knowing what you're going to be dealing with really matters for the business community," said Todd O'Boyle, senior director of technology policy with the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry advocacy group. "We are entering really uncharted waters." Under Trump, there could be "rejuvenated interest" for state AI regulation, he said. In California, lawmakers proposed a slew of AI-related bills this year and O'Boyle expects that will continue. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1047, a hotly contested bill that aimed to require developers of advanced AI models to adopt safety measures. Trump could make a big push into AI innovation, analysts say. As the use of AI in the military rises, Trump's campaign says he would "invest in cutting edge research and advanced technologies" in part to modernize the military, which would benefit tech firms such as Palantir and Anduril Industries. Palmer Luckey, who founded Anduril Industries and supports Trump, urged his followers on X to "Pokemon Go to the polls." As Trump moved closer to victory on election night, Luckey posted a photo of Pokémon character Ash Ketchum with a tear (apparently of joy) streaming down his face. "When it comes to AI, what will rule is, if there's money to be made, it'll be supported," said Olaf Groth, faculty member at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and chief executive of think tank Cambrian Futures. Trump could also punish companies that cross him. His campaign has said he would pass a digital bill of rights and legislation to "drastically limit the ability of big social media platforms to restrict free speech." Trump, who operates his own his own social media platform, Truth Social, has been critical of Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms and Google, accusing them of censoring his speech, allegations they deny. Citing competition with China, Trump has proposed imposing tariffs so businesses prioritize American suppliers. In the past, tech titans such as Apple that rely heavily on China to manufacture products such as the iPhone and the Apple Watch have managed to get tariffs waived. O'Boyle said that the tech industry is "tariffs skeptical." "Tariffs are a tax on consumers," O'Boyle said. "It's hard to see how tariffs are going to address the economic challenges in the country. Tariffs slow trade. They create friction to trade." Cryptocurrency Some of Trump's vocal supporters include investors and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, and have accused the Biden administration of trying to destroy their industry. A Trump presidency is a "huge win for crypto," said Daniel Ives, a managing director at Wedbush Securities. The Biden administration has proposed tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency brokers and issued an executive order in 2022 to crack down on cryptocurrency scams, fraud and theft. The executive order also mentions exploring the creation of a digital U.S. dollar. In his policy document, Trump's campaign signaled he would be more friendly toward the cryptocurrency industry and roll back the Biden's administrations actions. Republicans oppose the creation of a digital U.S. dollar. "To the extent that the Biden administration was skeptical of fintech and crypto, it's a reasonable bet that the Trump administration will reverse any fintech and crypto skeptical policies that the Biden administration stood up," O'Boyle said. Antitrust and TikTok U.S. regulators have been trying to rein in the power of tech heavyweights such as Meta, Amazon and Google, which the U.S. government is considering breaking up after a federal judge declared that the search giant has an illegal monopoly on search. For all his concerns about the power of tech companies, Trump signaled he's wary about breaking up Google. In an October interview moderated by Bloomberg News, Trump said he would "do something" but stopped short of saying he would break up the search giant. "It's a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies," he said. "We don't want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google." Some tech industry observers expect that Trump will name a new Federal Trade Commission chair, pushing Lina Khan out of the role. The previous Trump administration pushed for Chinese tech company ByteDance to sell TikTok due to the U.S. government's security concerns with the popular video app's ties to China. Trump, who has raised free speech concerns about banning TikTok, might be open to allowing the tech platform to stay in the U.S. so it can compete with Google and Meta, analysts say. "The irony is, even though Trump started the TikTok ban narrative, he's changed his tune significantly and would actually support TikTok within the U.S. with restrictions, and any talk of a ban would actually dissipate for TikTok," Ives said. In a video posted on social media in September, Trump said, "We're not doing anything with TikTok."