“[S]o much of the past 10, 15 years has been [about] the frictionlessness of technology, encouraging people to stay in loops that have otherwise been satisfying, even if they felt surveillance-y or imperfect. I think we’re getting to the point where the cost and benefit that even regular consumers are feeling around this is starting to tip.”
– Vittoria Elliot
Description
The second Trump administration has launched a full-scale effort to achieve “unchallenged global technological dominance.” It is accelerating the construction of AI infrastructure, from opening up federal lands to ramping up energy production. It has invoked AI-enabled “efficiency” in order to replace federal workers, removed agency guidance on algorithmic discrimination, and supercharged the use of AI in areas including defense and immigration enforcement. The administration has also pursued novel public ownership efforts, such as taking equity in Intel and critical minerals firms. To what end?
Officials say they are now maximizing the “export of the American AI technology stack.” This is not the deregulatory tech agenda predicted by both supporters and critics of President Trump. So what is it?
After a turbulent first year, this discussion featured experts who have been closely monitoring and making sense of the Trump administration’s policies on AI and digital technologies. How should we understand the administration’s actions when it comes to AI? What dynamics are driving these changes in AI policymaking? What might be the downstream consequences for Americans? And how should we respond?
Speakers
Alondra Nelson holds the Harold F. Linder Chair and leads the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced Study, where she has served on the faculty since 2019.
Edward Ongweso Jr. is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. His work centers around tech criticism, labor and financial reporting, as well as book reviews. He is the co-host of This Machine Kills and creator of the Substack, The Tech Bubble.
Vittoria Elliott is a reporter for WIRED, covering platforms and power. She was previously a reporter at Rest of World, where she covered disinformation and labor in markets outside the US and Western Europe.
Moderator
References
- “The Big AI State: How the Trump Administration Is Shaping US Industrial Policy Toward ‘Global Technological Dominance'” (Brian Chen, Jan 21, 2026) https://datasociety.net/library/the-big-ai-state/
- “The mirage of AI deregulation” | Science (Alondra Nelson, Jan 15, 2026) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee4900
- “Everything Is Content for the ‘Clicktatorship’” | WIRED (Vittoria Elliot, Jan 13, 2026) https://www.wired.com/story/everything-is-content-for-the-clicktatorship/
- “The AI Bubble in 2026 (1/4)” (Edward Ongweso Jr, Dec 12, 2025) https://www.thetechbubble.info/p/the-ai-bubble-in-2026-14
Credits
Curation: Brian J. Chen
Production: Rigoberto Lara
Post-Production: Tunika Onnekikami
Design: Surbhi Chawla
Editorial: Eryn Loeb