Trump's AI action plan may change the game for US tech
Trump says US will win the AI race
Trump, speaking at the Winning the AI Race summit for "All In," declared that the U.S. will outpace foreign competitors in developing artificial intelligence.
That's important because tech leaders have noted that the country that achieves certain AI milestones may well develop an insurmountable lead in unleashing the most revolutionary technology of our lifetimes.
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The Trump administration is taking a hands-off approach to regulating AI at this point. The president even signed executive orders to reduce regulations on constructing data centers and block states from regulating AI on their own.
Opinion: Trump wins again. Columbia's $200 million fine will reshape higher education.
Tech industry giants embrace Trump's AI plan
The shift in the tech industry from critics to partners of Trump has been remarkable. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of those critics. Now he supports the president. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg also has made an obvious shift toward Trump. And, of course, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously supported Trump before their very public and nasty falling out this year.
Opinion: We're creating AI that could surveil US citizens. And the government is in on it.
The tech leaders admittedly have their own interests in mind in praising Trump these days. But those interests also include America's economic, technological and national defense priorities. Our nation's strength and the prosperity and well-being of Americans may well depend on whether we win the AI race in the years ahead.
It's Huang's support that impresses me the most. The top executive of the world's most valuable company doesn't have to flatter anyone, even the president of the United States. Nvidia is leading the global race to the future, and this leader among leaders now says having Trump in the White House is an advantage for America.
Perhaps even progressives should listen.
Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.
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