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Elon Musk Could Influence Donald Trump’s AI Stance, Says OpenUK CEO Amanda Brock

Published
Kurt Robson
Published
By Kurt Robson
Edited by Samantha Dunn
Key Takeaways
  • Amanda Brock, OpenUK CEO, believes that Elon Musk will have a significant impact on Donald Trump’s AI stance.
  • The CEO believes Britain has fallen far behind the U.S. in AI development.
  • Trump has promised to remove the Biden administration’s AI regulations.

Open source artificial intelligence has been a hotly contested debate throughout the technology’s meteoric rise, and it is set to become a critical decision for President-elect Donald Trump.

Many have predicted that open source AI could become widespread during Trump’s presidency, mainly due to the President-elect’s historic light-touch approach to AI regulation.

However, Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, the UK body for the business of Open Technology, believes that Elon Musk is more likely to decide the outcome of open source AI in America.

Either way, Trump’s handling of AI will have massive ramifications for the U.S., Europe, and the rest of the world.

Elon Musk’s Impact on Trump

On Nov. 12, the President-elect said Musk and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Despite the department operating outside the government, Brock believes that Musk’s influence over Trump will reach far into the White House:

“The returning U.S. President made his awe for Tech Bro Musk clear in his election speech. And this admiration is not unrequited but firmly mutual, with Musk hot off the Trump campaign trail.”

Brock, a fierce campaigner for open source AI and technology in the U.K. and globally, noted Musk’s love for AI openness, saying “If we assume that Musk has the President’s ear on AI, something good might actually come of this.”

Much like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Musk has long-promoted open source technology’s societal and business benefits.

“This will likely see a shift to a somewhat more pragmatic approach to encouraging openness in AI and we may well shortly hear Donald advocating for open source,” she noted.

U.K. Falls Behind

The returning President has made several bold promises regarding his plans for America’s AI development and regulation.

In his manifesto, Trump promised to reverse Biden’s “dangerous” and “radical leftwing” ideas regarding AI regulation, claiming he wanted AI development rooted in “Free speech and human flourishing.”

This has left countries like the U.K. questioning how it will be impacted by the potential removal of America’s AI guardrails.

Over the past two years, Big Tech has warned the U.K. that it risks falling behind the U.S. in AI development due to its overly regulatory focus.

As America plans to supercharge its development soon, the U.K. risks falling even further behind.

Listed among the most influential women in the U.K. Tech  scene by Computer Weekly, Brock has seen the U.K.’s technology industry change and develop over her career. Right now, she believes that Britain is nowhere near competing in the AI race:

“The U.K. isn’t really in the race. When I last tallied the U.K. commitment to AI up it was £4 billion, Meta alone had already spent more, let alone the multiples of this figure that the big U.S. tech companies have invested.”

Brock says that despite the U.K. remaining competitive in the second tranche of AI, the country remains far behind the U.S. and China:

“To be taken seriously we need to see the U.K. mature in its approach, to understand and take more risk, to accept that this will bring some failure and to learn how to grow our own businesses.”

The potential for America’s AI regulation to be reversed and sprung open is also unlikely to align well with the EU.

Brock explained that the EU’s approach to AI has so far been prescriptive and cumbersome, a contrast to America’s potential future:

“We have already seen both Meta and Apple choose not to release their AI into the EU. This is a trend we are likely to see more of from U.S. companies as the space between the two jurisdictional approaches leads to a greater void.”

Optimistic About Tariffs

During Trump’s campaign, the now-returning President pledged  to put 60% tariffs on all goods coming in from China and 10% tariffs on goods imported from all other countries.

Regarding how the U.K. will be impacted, Brock remains optimistic that the U.S. will not ultimately want to be entirely fending for itself:

“It’s likely, though, that protectionism won’t work. A step beyond our old adage of “Buy British,” even the vast market that the U.S. is will not ultimately want to be entirely isolationist.”

Brock believes all eyes are on Britain’s Labour government to see how they manage and negotiate with potential new tariffs:

“How our new government manages and negotiates the potential of these tariffs with the new U.S. political regime, will demonstrate both how the relationship between the two nations is likely to move forward.”

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Kurt Robson

Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN with a diverse background across several prominent news outlets. Having transitioned into the world of technology journalism several years ago, Kurt has developed a keen fascination with all things AI. Kurt’s reporting blends a passion for innovation with a commitment to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories on the cutting edge of technology.
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