AI race in the Trump era is all about markets and ideologies

The dictum "whoever rules AI shall rule the world" is one that has come to guide great power dynamics in the 21st Century.

- ANUPAMA VIJAYAKUMAR

The dictum "whoever rules AI shall rule the world" is one that has come to guide great power dynamics in the 21st Century. Nearly a decade since Vladimir Putin made this statement, the modes through which AI is shaping the contours of evolving geopolitics is increasingly becoming apparent. Both the colossal opportunities and the risks flowing from its ubiquitous diffusion have started to unravel during Trump 2.0 as the United States vows to retain leadership in AI. Recognizing AI leadership as critical to national security and economic competitiveness, Washington has been laying stress on keeping AI free from "ideological bias" and "engineered social agendas". Going back on several Biden-era guardrails that sought to mitigate risks emanating from AI integration, Donald Trump appears to be prioritizing innovation and competitiveness in his bid to leverage AI to Make America Great Again. As the AI race enters the Trump era, the emergent picture of the world order appears fragmented as major contenders navigate through a milieu in which change is the only constant. Markets and ideologies are set to determine the implications of AI in the near future as the world manages a spontaneous and unpredictable American leadership.

AI RACE: THE EXPECTED AND THE UNEXPECTED Humanity has amply been cautioned about the 'expected' and the 'unexpected' in the Age of AI. Such perceptions on the expected and the unexpected have been shaped by both history and popular imageries of dystopian doom in which AI spirals out of control to become an out-of-control, terminator-esque threat. Among the unexpected was the sheer velocity at which AI moved from the realm of innovation to application to become a sociotechnical behemoth, ubiquitously present across the societal realms.