Washington Examiner columnist Byron York said Republicans are struggling with positive messaging around the use of artificial intelligence.
“They haven’t been great at making a positive case about the economy or several other things, so I’m not totally optimistic,” York said on Fox Business’s Kudlow on Friday.
AI has become a major focus of the U.S.-China relationship, as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet next week.
The summit is anticipated to cover a range of issues like trade, technology, and AI. Several prominent leaders in the AI world will be attending the dinner as well.
“If there’s going to be a big world-changing technology, you want the United States to be the leader in it,” York said.
The arguments about AI regulation, York said, sprang from concerns over the proliferation of data centers.
“I think, politically, this thing has gotten kind of murky, because in terms of the midterms, it really began as a debate over data centers,” York said.
York said the debate initially stemmed from “legitimate questions” about data centers’ effects on communities, including noise levels and increased demand on power grids.
“Now, it’s somehow quickly morphed into a debate over AI, which is ‘going to kill us all,’” York said.
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York emphasized that Republicans need to get in front of the debate and explain the benefits.
“Republicans should not let this bleed into a question of ‘We’ve got to stop AI,’” York said.