(AFP) – President Donald Trump is an enthusiastic advocate for swift AI development in America, dismissing regulation as a curb on competing with China. But some of Trump’s supporters in the MAGA world are skeptical of the new technology, fearing it may threaten to upend society with the possibility of machines replacing humans in many walks of life. Amy Kremer, president of a group named Humans First, argues that US conservatives need to wake up to what she calls the dangers posed by artificial intelligence. She contends that many lawmakers who sit back and do nothing to regulate the exploding AI sector are actually being paid off by its monied tech executives. “There are more regulations on a ham sandwich that I can buy at a street corner in New York City or Washington, DC, than there is on AI,” said Kremer, a long-standing supporter of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.
Dozens of activists, most of them conservatives, reached out recently to Trump in a letter initiated by Humans First and published by the news outlet Axios. “America did not become the greatest nation in the world by allowing unelected elites to experiment on the public without safeguards or accountability,” the letter says. The signatories included Kremer, who has supported Trump since his first White House win in 2016, and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Bannon is one of the ideological gurus of the coalition that rose up around Trump as he went from flashy real estate mogul to norm-busting politician. He has called AI “the most dangerous technology in the history of mankind.” He and other signatories of the letter urged Trump to make a decree mandating that new AI models undergo government testing before they are released to the public. In a last-minute turnabout on May 21, Trump dropped the planned signing of a watered-down executive order on powerful AI models. The text called for voluntary industry controls on AI, with fingers pointed at the president’s allies in Silicon Valley who oppose government oversight of the technology.
The 79-year-old billionaire has positioned himself as an advocate for rapid AI development, dismissing regulation as a constraint on US competitiveness with China, even as more and more Americans express anger against AI and the huge energy-consuming data centers needed to power it. This revolt by people in both of America’s main parties is reminiscent of protests against the construction of low-income housing projects, said UCLA political science professor Megan Mullin.
However, what makes this new movement different, she argues, is that these data centers are often going up in rural areas where people are very attached to their communities and already feel “ignored or neglected by regular politics.” In rural MAGA patches, the appearance of massive data centers that can consume significant amounts of water and electricity—while creating few new jobs—”is activating that feeling of siege and resentment for folks who live in rural communities,” said Mullin. Ever since he entered politics, Trump has sought to capitalize on the anger and frustration of such people who feel left behind by leaders they perceive as haughty and distant political elites. In the last three presidential elections, Trump triumphed in 90 percent of all rural counties in America, according to the Economic Innovation Group, a think tank. His share of the rural vote has grown from 59% in 2016 to 65% in 2020 and then 69% in 2024, according to Pew Research data.
Yet, Trump’s fervent support for AI so far has been enough to alienate some of his most enthusiastic backers. Kremer continues to praise Trump, stating that his leadership has been “absolutely amazing” and that “I know his heart and soul is with the American people.” Rather than blaming the president, she has directed her anger toward tech companies and their lobbyists. “They have built a moat around the White House,” she said, which keeps Trump insulated from people’s worries about AI.
Mullin observes “some simmering roots of an AI backlash,” though she notes that it is not yet strong, making it difficult to predict how this anger will manifest in voting behavior. Alex Dray, a 23-year-old activist wary of AI, is convinced it will soon become a key issue for young voters who are concerned about the technology’s effects on mental health, jobs, and the cost of living. Dray’s organization, the Young People’s Alliance, is bipartisan, and they signed the Axios letter to Trump. “I think there’s going to be a reckoning in the next couple months,” he told AFP.
– Aurélia END
© 2024 AFP
