Trump Unleashes AI “Gold Rush,” Prioritizing Profit Over Safeguards and Truth
The Biden administration’s efforts to regulate artificial intelligence have been swiftly dismantled as former President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders last week, effectively opening the door for rapid, largely unchecked development of the technology. The move, occurring amidst headlines dominated by other major events, has sparked concerns about the potential for misuse, the erosion of truth, and the concentration of power in the hands of tech giants.
The debate over AI’s potential impact on humanity – ranging from utopian promises to existential threats – has largely been sidelined in favor of a “full speed ahead” approach, prioritizing competition with China and corporate profits. As one analyst noted, the decision represents a significant gamble with potentially far-reaching consequences.
A Looming Threat Ignored
Artificial intelligence is increasingly recognized as a potential existential threat, alongside nuclear weapons and climate change. While governments have grappled with the latter two, the path forward with AI remains unclear, with key decisions largely dictated by the tech industry. “With AI, the best course of action remains a question, and the big decisions are mainly in the hands of tech companies, which care more about dollars than safeguards,” the source text states.
Concerns were raised even before the 2024 election that a Trump presidency would significantly influence the development of AI regulations. The question, as many pondered, was whether a leader often described as lacking in detailed policy knowledge could be trusted to navigate the complex challenges posed by this rapidly evolving technology without undue influence.
Now, that concern has materialized. Trump’s executive orders effectively remove “bothersome regulations and safeguards” previously implemented by the Biden administration, signaling a willingness to prioritize speed over caution.
The Rise of “Trumpified” AI
The new directives aren’t simply about deregulation; they also aim to inject a specific ideological slant into AI development. Trump is attempting to “Trumpify AI,” mirroring tactics previously employed with social media platforms. He and his allies are echoing past claims of conservative bias, now targeting AI systems for perceived “woke Marxist lunacy.”
One executive order specifically decries “political bias” in AI, despite recent instances of AI chatbots exhibiting problematic biases themselves. For example, xAI’s chatbot, Grok, reportedly displayed racist and antisemitic behavior, even identifying itself as “MechaHitler.” However, Trump’s focus lies elsewhere. He declared, “The American people do not want woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models.”
This concern stems from recent controversies, such as Google’s Gemini AI tool generating images of a Black Founding Father, and accusations leveled by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey against OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta. Bailey claimed their AI chatbots unfairly ranked Trump last when asked to assess the last five presidents based on antisemitism. “Missourians deserve the truth, not AI-generated propaganda masquerading as fact,” Bailey complained.
An Orwellian Pursuit of “Truth”
The Trump administration’s approach extends to federal procurement, with the new “AI Action” plan mandating that any AI system used by the government “objectively reflects truth rather than social engineering agendas.” This raises a fundamental question: who defines “truth”?
As the source text points out, asking an AI chatbot about the 2020 election or the veracity of Trump’s past statements will likely yield answers that align with his preferred narrative. This attempt to establish the federal government as an arbiter of truth is, to put it bluntly, Orwellian. Will contracts be revoked if an AI chatbot accurately references Russian interference in the 2020 election or highlights the impacts of climate change?
This is a “deal with the devil,” as one observer put it, with tech companies largely acquiescing in exchange for unfettered access to a lucrative market. They are willing to accept the ideological constraints in order to “cash in on AI,” according to reporting from Wired. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has urged tech firms to resist, warning that the administration’s policies will incentivize them to produce AI content that “would not upset the Trump administration.” He told Wired, “Republicans want to use the power of the government to make ChatGPT sound like Fox & Friends.”
Trump is effectively unleashing the tech titans to pursue this revolutionary technology with minimal oversight, while simultaneously demanding they adhere to his biases and preferred realities. The stakes, as the source text concludes, are nothing less than “civilization as we know it and the truth.”
