AI in the Crosshairs

Perhaps the best that can be said for Gary Marcus’s new book sounding the alarm about the dangers of artificial intelligence is that it comes from a good place. A decorated AI developer, a renowned neuroscientist and psychologist, and a highly successful entrepreneur, Marcus notes at the outset of Taming Silicon Valley, his polemic against […]

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Trump’s promised ‘golden age’ collides with a tech revolution



President Donald Trump opened his second inaugural address by declaring, “The golden age of America begins right now.” His new term promises a transformational four years. While foreign policy, economic concerns, and political divisiveness will dominate headlines, a quieter yet far-reaching revolution is underway. Massive technological innovation coincides with Trump’s presidency, setting the stage for societal changes that will shape the coming decades. These advancements offer progress but also demand vigilance as the nation navigates their ethical and societal challenges.

By the time Trump leaves office in January 2029, artificial intelligence, automation, self-driving cars, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies will have reached unprecedented levels. Their evolution and impact on society will likely shape the future more profoundly than the political battles of today.

The next few years will hinge on how society embraces innovation while protecting freedoms, privacy, and stability.

OpenAI, Tesla, and IBM are driving technological advancements, investing billions in research and development to turn science fiction into reality. The AI startup sector alone secured more than $100 billion in global investments last year. Companies pursuing quantum computing, including Google and IBM, are racing toward quantum supremacy, aiming for breakthroughs that could transform entire industries. Tesla and Waymo are investing billions in self-driving cars, positioning themselves to revolutionize transportation.

This surge in investment and innovation highlights the transformative power of these technologies. At the same time, it raises concerns about how society will navigate their rapid evolution. As these breakthroughs accelerate during Trump’s presidency, the stakes remain high — not only for harnessing their potential but also for mitigating their risks

The rise of a new decision-maker

Artificial intelligence has advanced rapidly in recent years, evolving from narrow, task-specific algorithms to sophisticated systems capable of natural language understanding, image recognition, and even creative tasks like generating art and music. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s DeepMind have become household names, demonstrating AI's expanding role in everyday life and business.

By 2029, industry experts expect AI to grow more advanced and deeply integrated into society, influencing everything from health care to legal systems. Breakthroughs in generative AI could enable machines to produce realistic virtual experiences, transforming education, entertainment, and training. AI-driven research is also poised to accelerate discoveries in medicine and climate science, with algorithms identifying solutions beyond human capabilities.

These advancements promise significant benefits. AI could revolutionize medicine by personalizing treatments, reducing errors, and improving access to care. Businesses may see substantial productivity gains, driving economic growth and innovation. Everyday conveniences, from personal assistants to smart infrastructure, could enhance quality of life, relieving people from mundane tasks and fostering greater creativity and leisure.

The rapid integration of AI raises serious concerns. As AI systems collect and analyze vast amounts of data, issues of surveillance, privacy, and consent demand attention. There are automated decision-making risks that could displace workers, worsen economic inequality, and foster new forms of dependency. Misuse — whether through biased algorithms, manipulative propaganda, or authoritarian control — heightens the need for vigilance. Protecting individual liberty and ensuring AI serves society, rather than undermining it, remains crucial.

Redefining the workforce

Advanced robotics and automation are rapidly transforming traditional industries. Robots already handle complex tasks in manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics, but improvements in dexterity and AI-driven decision-making could make them essential across nearly every sector by the decade’s end.

Several companies are racing to develop increasingly advanced robots. Tesla’s Optimus and Agility Robotics’ Digit are humanoid models designed to perform tasks once exclusive to humans. As Agility Robotics strengthens its partnership with Amazon, Elon Musk predicts robots will outnumber people within 20 years.

While automation boosts efficiency and productivity, it also threatens jobs. Millions of workers risk displacement, creating economic and social challenges that demand thoughtful solutions. The Trump administration will likely face mounting pressure to balance innovation with protecting livelihoods.

Who is in the driver’s seat?

Self-driving vehicle technology has long been anticipated, with Elon Musk initially predicting its emergence by 2019. While that timeline proved optimistic, autonomous vehicle technology has advanced significantly in recent years. What began as experimental prototypes has evolved into semi-autonomous systems operating in commercial fleets. By 2029, fully autonomous vehicles could become widespread, transforming transportation, urban planning, and logistics.

Despite these advancements, controversies remain. Questions about safety, liability, and infrastructure lack clear answers. Additionally, concerns about centralized control over transportation systems raise fears of surveillance and government overreach. The Trump administration will play a crucial role in shaping regulations that safeguard freedom while fostering innovation.

A massive computing breakthrough

Quantum computing, once limited to theoretical physics, is rapidly becoming a practical reality. IBM and Google have led advancements in this technology, with Google recently unveiling Willow, a state-of-the-art quantum computer chip. According to Google, Willow completed a complex computation in minutes — one that would have taken the world’s most advanced supercomputers 10 septillion years. That’s more than 700 quintillion times older than the estimated age of our universe.

With the ability to solve problems at speeds unimaginable for classical computers, quantum computing could transform industries like cryptography, drug development, and economic modeling.

This technology also presents serious risks to privacy and security. Quantum computing’s ability to break traditional encryption methods could expose sensitive data worldwide. As the field advances, policymakers must develop strong regulations to protect privacy and ensure fair access to this powerful technology.

Trump’s most enduring legacy?

These technological advancements could drive extraordinary breakthroughs, including drug discoveries, disease cures, and an era of abundance. But they also pose significant risks. Concerns over data collection, job displacement, surveillance, and coercion are not hypothetical — they are real challenges that will require attention during Trump’s term.

The next few years will hinge on how society embraces innovation while protecting freedoms, privacy, and stability. Trump’s role in this technological revolution may not dominate headlines, but it will likely leave the most lasting impact.

The Woke Fever Broke, So Why Is Bezos Still Banning Ryan Anderson’s Book On Transgenderism?

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-4.34.27 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-29-at-4.34.27%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]When Harry Became Sally is still banned on Amazon, even as the vibes have shifted and Trump successfully campaigned against gender ideology.

Taiwan’s chip monopoly puts US security and economy at risk



America has a Big Tech problem. An oligarchy of powerful, trillion-dollar companies wields tremendous control over the digital ecosystem, affecting the information we see, the products we buy, the candidates we vote for, and how we live our daily lives. Behind closed doors, these brand-name entities use their market dominance and deep pockets to protect their interests, not consumers.

Today, the U.S. faces another monopoly threat that involves the hardware that’s in virtually all modern electronics: semiconductors. Policy meant to generate domestic production of these vital components —that is, the CHIPS Act — inadvertently profited foreign suppliers and further entrenched the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which received more than $6 billion in U.S. taxpayer subsidies.

TSMC’s global dominance is so massive — and its US presence is growing — that the only way to check its global monopoly is to level the scales for domestic chipmakers.

President Trump called out the flawed logic of giving taxpayer money intended to promote U.S. production to our biggest foreign competitor. “We put up billions of dollars for rich companies to come in and borrow the money and build chip companies here,” he told Joe Rogan last fall. “These chip companies, they stole. They stole 95% of our business. ... [And now] they want protection.”

TSMC dominates the global semiconductor market, and, to borrow a Trumpism, it is eating America’s lunch. TSMC commands over 60% of the total global semiconductor market and makes more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips. Meanwhile, Intel — once a national icon and our closest answer to TSMC — has fallen sorrowfully behind and is a “shell of its former self,” despite receiving the largest chunk of CHIPS funding.

The lack of a domestic alternative — or any friendly alternative outside of Taiwan — is a huge risk for the world as China ramps up its rhetoric.

Semiconductors power the devices we use, from smartphones to washing machines, as well as major networks, like banking. More than one trillion semiconductors were shipped worldwide in 2021, and that number has likely grown since. TSMC’s choke hold on this vital industry has earned it the moniker, “The most important company in the world.” It would be more fitting to call it the most dominant monopoly in the world.

TSMC’s playbook is obvious: Secure major deals with America’s largest companies, dominate the market with its chips, and push out U.S. competitors that lack the same scale and resources. Just look at its contracts. Apple inked a deal with TSMC in 2023 to buy all of its three nanometer chips. Amazon’s AWS and AI chips are made exclusively by TSMC. And Nvidia is in talks with TSMC to develop its advanced chips.

We can’t build our own semiconductor industry from ground zero, our workers need the experience to do it. However, policymakers should be wary of any company that exerts such unilateral control over a commodity that touches every aspect of daily life. TSMC’s geography and geopolitics make it especially troublesome.

TSMC is headquartered in Taiwan, where as much as 90% of its production capabilities are located. China has long laid claim to Taiwan and refuses to acknowledge the country’s sovereignty. The Chinese government has conducted military exercises to test its “seizure power.” Just this month, a Chinese vessel cut an undersea fiber optic cable in an apparent act of sabotage, and in a New Year’s Eve speech, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said no one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan.

It’s not a matter of if China acts but when. Whether military action, technological warfare and sabotage, or a combination of both, such aggression would inevitably disrupt, if not sever, the U.S. semiconductor supply chain. As two researchers opined in the New York Times recently, the result could be “a global economic crisis far worse than the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

It’s time policymakers get tough and hold TSMC accountable to the geopolitical situation. Fortunately, President Trump has the chops to do it. He has been vocal about using tariffs to stop the flood of foreign-made chips and support U.S.-based manufactures. “You didn’t have to put up 10 cents,” he said on Joe Rogan's podcast. “You tariff [foreign chips] so high that they will come and build their chip companies for nothing.”

President Trump is right. He should encourage antitrust regulators to keep an eye on TSMC’s practices. TSMC’s global dominance is so massive — and its U.S. presence is growing thanks to the CHIPS Act — that the only way to check its global monopoly is to level the scales for domestic chipmakers. President Trump should ensure that TSMC’s practices in Arizona are in good faith. The company should make commitments to train American workers, honor collective bargaining agreements, and commit long-term to investing in facilities and advanced chip development in the United States — not just in Taiwan.

The federal government must also make a concerted effort over the next decade to ensure American companies are up to the challenge. We must invest in an educated engineering workforce and streamlined facilities and encourage capital investment in domestic manufacturing.

TSMC has steadily tightened its grip on the U.S. semiconductor market for decades. It’s time policymakers get serious and hold TSMC to higher standards and work to support our own struggling industries. Otherwise, America could face a supply-chain crisis and economic recession of China’s (or Taiwan’s) doing — which is hardly the time to be asking how to rebuild our domestic semiconductor industry.

When it comes to new friends, Republicans should trust but verify



The enthusiasm surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration last week highlighted the breadth and diversity of the president’s coalition. Among those attending were American technology leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg. However, conservatives should hesitate before fully welcoming these figures into the America First movement.

While the GOP rightly celebrates the powerful allies surrounding President Trump, the party must uphold its foundational conservative principles. Republicans should avoid capitulating to the liberal ideologies often espoused by the tech industry and should not overlook the past actions of these business leaders.

To prove their political transformation is genuine, tech leaders need to take meaningful steps to counter the decade-long vilification of President Trump and his supporters.

Zuckerberg, who once sported hoodies but now discusses “masculine energy” on Joe Rogan’s podcast, allowed his Facebook platform in 2021 to bow to Biden administration pressures and censor dissenting opinions on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similarly, Cook’s Apple Newsfeed, Pichai’s Google search engine, and Bezos’ Washington Post played roles in suppressing critical information. Their actions contributed to the promotion of draconian lockdowns. These lockdowns, in turn, enabled widespread vote-by-mail, which, according to MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab, has been linked to higher rates of fraud compared to in-person voting, even among scholars who generally view election fraud as rare.

Worse, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, personally contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to an organization that provided ballot drop boxes to facilitate the 2020 election. Ninety percent of those were in Democrat-leaning counties.

To his credit, Zuckerberg has since admitted to mishandling the public health crisis. The young billionaire publicly rebuked the Biden White House for launching its censorship campaign against Facebook, but he didn’t have to succumb.

And let’s not forget how Big Tech suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story. The Washington Post, whose slogan was “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” also cast plenty of shade on the New York Post’s reporting of “Hunter Biden’s alleged laptop.”

It's also worth remembering that in 2021, Apple and Google removed the social network Parler from their app stores and Amazon threw it off its cloud web hosting service. The corporations claimed that the platform, founded as a free-speech alternative to the censorious, pre-Elon Musk Twitter, was responsible for spreading violent content and contributing to the “insurrection” on January 6. The move left hundreds of thousands of conservatives without a virtual home.

Before millions of disaffected Democrats joined Trump’s cultural movement, conservatives watched in frustration as the “very fine people” lie from Charlottesville was allowed to circulate unchecked online. Technology leaders were too focused on elevating the MeToo and Black Lives Matter narratives to counteract what could have been easily debunked with a straightforward analysis of Trump’s actual statement.

Today, identifying as a common-sense conservative may be considered cool, but not long ago, Republicans were dismissed as backwater bumpkins and ostracized in social circles. It’s fair to say that major tech companies contributed to the public prejudice against conservatives through their platforms.

While Zuckerberg and Bezos have distanced their companies from the divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion framework that dominates woke corporate culture, companies like Apple and Microsoft are expanding their DEI programs. They claim these initiatives foster a “culture of belonging” and promote inclusivity.

To prove their political transformation is genuine, tech leaders need to take meaningful steps to counter the decade-long vilification of President Trump and his supporters. Incorporating America First policies into their corporate practices would be a good start.

For instance, instead of manufacturing iPhones in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook could explore plans to build an Apple plant in states like Michigan or Nevada. A city such as Detroit, which has one of the highest unemployment rates among major U.S. cities, could greatly benefit from the economic boost an Apple facility would provide.

Similarly, many American merchants selling on Amazon have seen their sales stagnate due to the influx of counterfeit, low-cost Chinese products on the platform. To support U.S. businesses, Jeff Bezos could take action to prevent Chinese sellers from undercutting American entrepreneurs.

Conservatives are compassionate, kind, and tolerant people, but expanding our coalition shouldn’t require compromising core principles. Nor should it mean quickly forgetting the criticism and attacks we endured from those who now want to align with us. While we can welcome their change in rhetoric, we should also hold them accountable to back their words with real actions.

Trump Announces $500 Billion in AI Infrastructure Investment

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $500 billion private-sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure, calling it the "largest AI infrastructure project in history." OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle will launch a joint venture called Stargate, each committing $100 billion upfront with plans to invest up to $500 billion over the next four years. Stargate is set to begin with a data center project in Texas before expanding nationwide to enhance AI training and deployment, according to the Financial Times.

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TikTok Ban Gives Social Media Addicts A Chance At Sobriety If They Choose To Take It

Americans have a severe social media addiction and it shows.

App Store Accountability Act aims to put parents back in the driver’s seat



Families with young children face a daunting challenge: navigating app stores controlled by large companies that place profit over safety. The lack of age verification, privacy protections, and simplified parental tools puts children at serious risk. Fortunately, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.) are working to keep kids safe online.

Although the Senate and House versions differ slightly, the App Store Accountability Act includes vital reforms. The measure would require app stores to securely verify users’ ages, mandate parental approval for new downloads, and increase parents’ access to accurate app-specific information. These features would help families understand and control access to apps that jeopardize children’s digital health.

The bill does not prohibit any form of speech. It merely establishes guardrails such as requiring age verification.

Ensuring that this system works requires accountability from the companies that own major app stores. Currently, Google and Apple operate their platforms with minimal oversight, making and arbitrarily enforcing rules for maximum profit. In the absence of accountability, these digital giants leave families and children vulnerable to toxic and disturbing content.

Crucially, the bills include provisions for holding violators responsible through private rights of action (Senate) or by enforcing Federal Trade Commission laws on unfair and deceptive practices (House), each with corresponding penalties. Companies could no longer hide behind opaque app store systems that distribute malicious or poorly vetted apps, exposing children to explicit, violent, or otherwise harmful material. This legislation would protect children and hold violators liable.

Opponents of the measure misleadingly claim these common-sense protections violate the First Amendment. As the executive director of the ACLJ and a strong supporter of free speech rights, I take the First Amendment seriously and advocate for its proper interpretation. Generally, the Constitution protects free speech, but it recognizes long-standing exceptions.

The Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity lacks constitutional protection, and certain sexually explicit content can be deemed obscene for minors. In Ginsberg v. New York, the court upheld a state law restricting the distribution of offensive material to young people. Supreme Court jurisprudence is clear: Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, and minors warrant special protection from sexually inappropriate content.

Yet, to be clear, the App Store Accountability Act does not prohibit any form of speech. It merely establishes guardrails such as requiring age verification for app stores to protect young people from inappropriate and harmful content. Far from censoring specific content, this proposal empowers parents to have better tools to make their own decisions about what apps are appropriate for their children.

Further, the burden on companies that oversee app stores would be minimal; the data needed to verify user ages is already in their possession. Apple and Google both offer parental approval controls if parents decide to turn this feature on. Lee and James’ bill would simply make this optional feature required, taking the burden off parents to navigate a vast web of optional parental consent tools.

In the modern online age, children spend significant time online. Parents deserve to be given streamlined tools to ensure that the content their children access is safe, transparent, and protective of their well-being.

Congress should pass the App Store Accountability Act to provide families with the key tools and information necessary to protect their children’s access to online enrichment while keeping them safe from unseen dangers. Our children’s online welfare and safety depend on it.

Biden’s Biggest Lies In MSNBC Oval Office Exit Interview

Biden complained his own party's oligarchy was losing control, defended liars in the media, and blamed red states for his dismal economy.