When people talk about the news, it is generally through the lens of the present. It can often be divisive and antagonistic. There is nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but personally, I like to think through topics in relation to history. I think it makes everything seem significantly less consequential. So, please judge the history before you judge my opinion.
I believe that President Donald Trump’s decision, or the lack thereof, to regulate artificial intelligence use will be the single most defining issue of his two terms as president.
Trump has been a polarizing figure in American politics for an unusually long time. Yet, it is entirely unfair to frame his decisions or main controversies as altogether singular in history.
Renaming the Department of Defense, Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario are petty, ignorant and expensive decisions at best. That said, President Barack Obama did change the name of Mt. McKinley to Mt. Denali in 2015, so there is precedent for the name changes.
Trump’s love for territorial expansion, whether that is with Greenland, Canada, the Strait of Hormuz or the Panama Canal, also fits well into our history of manifest destiny. Exhibit A is our questionable ownership of Puerto Rico following the Spanish-American War and into today.
Tariffs are an obvious and contentious issue right now as well. The president known for the Spanish-American War was actually also a fan of tariffs. Just prior to his election in 1896, William McKinley called himself the “tariff man.” While McKinley’s views did change on tariffs, there is at least some modern justification for the use of them.
Attacking the press and free speech is another problem that is certainly concerning for any American. Yet, I urge all to read about America’s history of the Sedition Acts of 1798 and 1918. America usually responds fairly harshly and moves on.
Trump’s unwillingness to follow court orders are quite comparable to Andrew Jackson’s decisions surrounding the Trail of Tears. The three branches of government do enjoy bucking each other from time to time.
And if you think the ideas and methods of DOGE were unique to Trump, I point you to Rick Perry’s gaffe in the Republican debates of 2011.
The national forests currently being opened up for logging are eerily parallel to the Teapot Dome scandal, and the 2020 election is controversial only if you have never read about the 1876 election. There truly is nothing new under the sun. Norms have always been broken, and they will continue to be in the future.
It is not my goal in any of this to lessen the harshness of the issues. I believe they should each be examined in the light of the office of the president and with one eye always on the Constitution. And I know that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts when it comes to legacy. My point is to show why these issues are all significantly less in stature compared to the AI issue. History shows that we repeat our actions.
AI regulation is different. There is nothing in history to really compare it to. The closest thing you could say is that it is a new cold war. Instead of the US and the USSR, it is the US and China. Choosing to regulate the industry alongside China may give a safety net to the current top US companies. I believe this may be a completely fair take of the situation, and Trump seems to at least be considering this in his current comments. But, if you choose to believe these CEOs are doing it to protect their own livelihoods, I ask why the dictator of our closest rival is pushing for the same exact thing.
New reporting shows that the use of Large Language Models for intelligence sourcing is driving us to the brink of war with China, and AI has the potential to give an edge to our enemies, which we all can not afford. It seems each new day brings more details of rogue activity by AI models. We must really reconsider AI’s uses in our world as its growth proliferates.
I tend to believe most government regulations are bad. At the same time, “government(s) of the people” have a great responsibility to protect their citizens. If our largest enemy wants to partner with us to protect the world, I think we should at least listen.
All in all, I am grateful I am not in charge as president at this moment. Trump, not I, will have to decide whether or not to regulate AI development. As the Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the White House this Thursday, it will be crucial to discuss this topic in full.
Whatever his decision, Trump must face the realization that this will define his legacy far more than any other issue. Norms have been broken in his administrations thus far. History tells us that is to be expected. But never have we seen anything like the race of AI development. Here, President Trump must tell us what to expect.
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