After Taylor Swift made news supporting Kamala Harris following the most recent presidential debate, artificial intelligence (AI) became a major topic of discussion in the American political scene. Globally known pop diva Swift voiced her worries about AI-driven false information, citing a fake social media image created by former president Donald Trump in August that misled people about her encouragement of voting for him. She claimed that this event inspired her to advocate against the escalating menace of AI-generated false information.
Though many Americans may not be a major voting concern, artificial intelligence has grown to be a matter of increasing relevance especially given its influence on public opinion and dissemination of false information. Reflecting their larger ideas on technology, national security, and regulation, Harris and Trump have taken different stances on artificial intelligence.
Harris’s Stance: a wary but forward-looking approach to artificial intelligence
Current Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris, vice president, has been outspoken about the need of the United States keeping a competitive edge in artificial intelligence and other developing technologies. Harris underlined in the presidential debate the need of funding “American-based technology” to guarantee that the United States leads in the worldwide contest for supremacy in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Harris, like President Joe Biden, has taken a measured approach to artificial intelligence, juggling innovation with the necessity to guard customers and employees against the possible hazards of this technology. Biden signed an executive order in October meant to lower the threats artificial intelligence presents to civil rights, national security, and fairness. The directive directed federal agencies to uphold strong standards for AI safety and security while advancing competitive markets and protection of civil rights.
Harris agrees with Biden that technology and artificial intelligence are major national security concerns; China is considered as the main challenge to American hegemony in these fields. Already, the Biden government has proposed draft regulations meant to reduce investments in artificial intelligence and other vital technology in China, therefore posing possible hazards to American national security.
Harris made it quite evident in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention that under her direction the United States would not give China its technical edge. She pledged to make sure America leads the globe in space exploration and artificial intelligence while defending the country’s position in the twenty-first century technological race. Emulating these ideas, the Democratic Party’s policy agenda says that a Harris government will seek to “seize the promise and manage the risks of AI” so as to guarantee that the technology serves the people.
The Democrats also want to handle problems with prejudice motivated by artificial intelligence. Already releasing a framework for an artificial intelligence bill of rights, the Biden government provides direction on how to guarantee justice and fight algorithmic unfairness. AI policy specialists who warn that biased algorithms could disproportionately affect underprivileged communities have highlighted worries about AI being used to institutionalize prejudice or challenge democracy.
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Trump’s stance: free speech and deregulation in artificial intelligence development
On the other hand, the Republican nominee Donald Trump supports a less controlled attitude to artificial intelligence. Trump promised to undo Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence should he be elected president as he has attacked it as unduly limiting. His policy agenda emphasizes the need of artificial intelligence development anchored on free speech and human flourishing and pledges to stop AI from being applied to censor American people.
Trump’s attitude on artificial intelligence captures his more general ideas of low government intervention and deregulation. He signed an executive order in 2019 assigning federal agencies greater funds for artificial intelligence research and development while in office. Furthermore underlined by him the significance of artificial intelligence in building futuristic sectors such industrial robots and autonomous cars.
Trump released further direction on the use of artificial intelligence in government decision-making in 2020, therefore laying guidelines for the design and implementation of AI technologies in federal departments. Nonetheless, other analysts think that when it comes to the control of artificial intelligence, a Trump government would be less cautious than a Harris one, thus enabling the sector to function with less responsibility.
Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Nicol Turner Lee has voiced worries about Trump’s deregulation drive possibly resulting in less control of artificial intelligence’s possible hazards. This covers the increasing application of artificial intelligence in fields like finance and healthcare, where justice and safety are absolutely vital.
National Security and AI: Shared Ground Between Harris and Trump
Though they approach regulation differently, Trump and Harris see artificial intelligence through the prism of national security. The Biden government has set taxes on Chinese goods and instituted policies aimed at limiting China’s access to cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence. Likewise, Trump has suggested a more forceful strategy calling for the progressive reduction over a four-year period of Chinese imports of drugs and technology.
Both contenders understand how strategically important artificial intelligence is to preserving American world leadership. The competition to create advanced artificial intelligence technologies will be vital in deciding world power dynamics as AI gets more and more included into defense, intelligence, and economic sectors. Whether run by Harris or Trump, a fundamental issue confronting the next government will be how to strike a balance between the necessity for innovation and the obligation to guard national security.
The worldwide ramifications of artificial intelligence control
AI affects people everywhere; it is not only a domestic matter. Whoever takes office as president will have to closely collaborate with foreign allies to create a cooperative framework for artificial intelligence control. Head of the Open Technology Institute at New America Lilian Coral has underlined the importance of a worldwide paradigm of artificial intelligence development bringing countries together to handle common issues.
The future hazards sophisticated artificial intelligence models present are one of the main unknowns in the AI discussion. AI policy specialist Clara Langevin of the Federation of American Scientists has underlined the need for strong leadership in handling these hazards. The next U.S. president will have to negotiate complicated and changing technical terrain whether it is Harris’s emphasis on controlling the hazards of artificial intelligence or Trump’s drive for deregulation.
It is certain that the choices taken by the next government will have long-lasting effects not only on the United States but also on the international scene as artificial intelligence keeps transforming sectors, economies, and even political debate. Both Harris and Trump have described their ideas for the part artificial intelligence will play in America’s future, and the result of the election could define how the country interacts with this revolutionary tool going forward.
