Author: Alessandro Sansoni – 05/10/2024
The future of Artificial Intelligence will be decided by the US elections
The November 5th election “cannot be considered just another election.” This is a phrase we’ve been hearing for some time, often with propagandistic intent from supporters of both candidates, but also from numerous commentators, and with good reason: the outcome of this election will determine whether conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continue, the stance that the US and the collective West will take towards China, the development of the energy transition, and even what the politically dominant cultural direction in the US will be for the next four years. All this without accounting for the failed assassination attempt on Trump and the dramatic shift between Biden and Harris.
However, this same phrase has now been spoken by a very important figure, who is usually discreet when it comes to endorsing candidates: Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has announced his support for Kamala Harris and a donation of $50 million.
In theory, this could be seen as a small news item: Gates’ Democratic sympathies were already well-known and shared by much of the Silicon Valley elite. However, his endorsement takes on a different meaning when viewed in the context of the overall repositioning of various figures in the tech world, which has been unfolding over the past few weeks.
It all began after the failed assassination attempt on Trump: first with the selection of J.D. Vance as vice-presidential candidate, a direct representative of the American tech world; then with Elon Musk’s public support for the tycoon (along with other figures from the tech world), even suggesting he might enter a potential Trump administration. Finally, Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, made the decision to adjust the editorial line of the influential *Washington Post*—a newspaper long aligned with Democratic positions—urging the publication to take a more neutral stance between the two presidential candidates.
What is going on? Why is a world that has historically been politically and culturally unified, like Big Tech, engaging in internal battles during one of the most divisive election campaigns in US history?
The key issue is the future of General Artificial Intelligence (AI), for control of which a bloody battle is being fought in Silicon Valley. The future of human-machine relations, with potentially dangerous consequences for humanity’s survival, is at stake—a point openly acknowledged by its promoters, including Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI and the creator of ChatGPT.
The balance was upset by Altman’s decision to orient OpenAI towards a for-profit model, breaking with Musk in November 2023. This led to Musk’s attempt to drag Altman into court, and eventually to a “coup” by a majority of the nonprofit board to remove Altman. However, this coup triggered a revolt by nearly all of the company’s staff, ending with Altman’s return to the leadership position just days later (having been hired by Microsoft, which was also heavily involved with OpenAI), and the progressive ousting of the “conspirators” from leadership roles.
It was with the collapse of that “cartel” that Musk took a different route, founding xAI, while Microsoft continued to support Altman—at least until the end of October 2024, when signs of disagreement began to emerge, and Bill Gates publicly voiced his support for Kamala Harris.
In fact, some problems had already appeared earlier when Joe Biden proved to be a less reliable partner for tech moguls than expected. He appointed Lina Khan, a 35-year-old Pakistani immigrant with woke views, as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US authority responsible for competition regulation, alongside the Department of Justice. Her leadership has been more focused on protecting startups than on defending the monopolistic interests of large corporations.
The battle is centered on the future of this key authority, as Khan’s mandate expired in September. More than differing views on how and what Artificial Intelligence should be, it’s the control of the FTC that has triggered the internal conflict within a significant portion of what the French scholar Emmanuel Todd has called “the liberal oligarchy” that shapes political decisions in the West.
Bill Gates’ support for Harris, therefore, seeks to balance the backing from a significant portion of the old Silicon Valley for Trump, who, by helping him, has effectively launched a takeover bid for his candidacy and potential presidency.
This development changes the interpretation of the electoral conflict: from a “battle of the Trumpian outsiders against the Democratic establishment” to a “power struggle within the elites.”
The original version of this article was published in the Naples newspaper “Il Mattino” on November, 5 2024. We thank the Author for allowing its translation and publication on the Vision & Global Trends website.