As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump prepare to face off in the 2024 presidential election, their contrasting approaches to technology could significantly shape U.S. technology policy, especially if Trump wins. There is a possibility that it will change.
The U.S. president is a key figure in guiding U.S. policy regarding technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and semiconductor chips. The past four years of the Biden administration have focused on competing with China by boosting domestic chip manufacturing and enforcing export controls, while also challenging U.S. technology companies on antitrust issues and forcing federal agencies to It has led by example in the safety development of AI by requiring guidelines for its use to be followed.
If Trump wins the election, the United States may move to regulate technologies such as AI, accelerate trade restrictions with China, re-shoring critical supply chains, and place less emphasis on protecting national interests.
Regardless of who wins the 2024 election, it’s imperative that the US president guides the next generation of digital technology policy, or Europe will set the stage for tech regulation, said Tom Wheeler, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The European Union has already adopted the EU AI Act and is in the process of implementing the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, which regulate digital platforms.
If we can’t answer these questions, we are very close to a situation where Europe ends up writing the rules. That would be a tragedy.
Tom WheelerVisiting Fellow, Brookings Institution
Wheeler said he believes U.S. leadership has largely ignored the changes digital technology has brought to commerce and culture, changes that need to change under the next administration.
“Are we going to keep debating privacy forever? Do we rely on antitrust laws from a completely different era? How do we deal with issues of trust and truth? For 25 years, we have seen “We turned a blind eye,” Wheeler said. “If we don’t get answers to these questions, we’re very close to a situation where Europe ends up making the rules. That would be a tragedy.”
Biden and Trump talk climate, China, AI
Climate technology policy is likely to be the biggest difference between the Biden and Trump administrations.
Biden signed an inflation-busting bill that gives clean-energy incentives to companies. In contrast, the previous Trump administration denied climate change and rolled back environmental protections to promote the natural gas, oil and coal industries.
Additionally, while the Biden administration has focused primarily on clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power, a second Trump administration could shift its focus to nuclear power, said Dr. Director Arthur Herman said. Mr. Herman also served on the National Security Council under the former Trump administration.
Indeed, Herman said nuclear power is likely to become a core part of the U.S. approach to developing more carbon-free energy under the Trump administration.
“A President Trump will bring nuclear power to the forefront of energy and technology policy,” he said.
Herman said China will also be a major focus for President Trump’s second term. It will affect U.S. high-tech policy, which has already been demonstrated through Trump and Biden’s approach to China. During the Trump administration, tariffs were imposed on Chinese products such as aluminum, steel and solar panels. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has introduced export restrictions on advanced AI technology to China.
“The Trump administration is going to be looking at China’s role with a certain degree of skepticism,” Herman said. “How do these technologies support or undermine our national interests, particularly in terms of China’s role as a strategic adversary and as a technological and economic competitor?”
Herman said climate change policy and China are closely related for the Trump administration. He cited China as one example of why Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement on carbon emissions, which he said Trump thought would harm U.S. interests and favor China.
“The Biden administration’s environmental policies, in particular, will be seen as economically and strategically advantageous to China from the perspective of Trump and the Republican Party,” he said.
AI has also been front and center for Biden and Congress in the last year, but Wheeler said AI regulation will be more affected by whether the House or Senate wins control after the November elections. The Biden administration has already signaled the White House’s limitations in regulating the use of AI.
“Everybody thinks the presidency is this huge, powerful position,” Wheeler said. “Obviously, there are limitations to what can be defined in a situation like this, and there will need to be legislation.”
Return of domestic manufacturing and collaboration with major technology companies
The CHIPS/Science Act, passed under the Biden administration, aims to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Several companies have already received millions of dollars from the CHIPS Act to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States.
Herman said reshoring U.S. industry is an effort that is likely to continue under a second Trump administration, including a renewed focus on tariffs as a way to force international competitors to negotiate better deals for U.S. products and services.
But Herman believes that under a Trump administration, government funding for these efforts will be reduced and there will be an emphasis on “constructive tax policies” to fund high-tech research and development where private companies see opportunity. He hopes that the Trump administration will encourage private industry to tackle technological challenges by “creating an environment that supports investment capital in these areas.”
Herman said there will also be differences in how Biden and Trump approach big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta. Both administrations have targeted these companies over antitrust concerns, but the Biden administration has sought to partner with these companies in understanding technologies such as AI.
Herman said he expects a backlash against big tech companies in their ability to influence regulation under a second Trump administration.
“Big tech companies will start to distance themselves and be viewed with suspicion,” he said.
Ultimately, it’s difficult to predict how a second Trump administration will approach specific technology policies, given the Trump administration’s history of making policy decisions personal, said Wheeler of the Brookings Institution. Stated. Mr. Wheeler cited Mr. Trump’s anger at media outlets such as NBC and questioning whether the FCC should revoke the station’s license. He also pointed out that Trump opposes the AT&T-Time Warner merger because he hates CNN.
“This is a very volatile situation,” Wheeler said. “I think there’s no question that he’s going to campaign against the federal government, but at the same time, there’s the question of how he’s going to use that power for his own needs. Who knows what that might mean?”
For more on Trump and Biden’s approaches to tech policy, see TechTarget Editorial’s guide to the candidates’ stances on tech.
Mackenzie Holland is a senior news writer covering big tech companies and federal regulation. Prior to joining TechTarget Editorial, she worked at wilmington star news Crime and education reporter wabash plain dealer.
