AI Gets Political: Why It Matters for Techno-Optimists

Hi everyone,

I want to make a quick statement.

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was the most shocking event in my lifetime. It was so unbelievably close to being our generation’s Kennedy assassination moment. If Trump didn’t turn his head at that one moment, we’d be living in a very different world.

I hope this can be a moment when humanity comes together. All human life is important, no matter what someone’s politics are. People aren’t as different as social media or the news makes us sound.

Let’s stay optimistic.

American innovation isn’t dead. Our future can be better than our past. We can create technologies that improve the world. And solve our most pressing issues. Lifting the quality of life for people worldwide.

It's time for America to accelerate!

P.S. Please listen to the latest episode of The Next Wave with Anjney Midha from A16Z to learn about the anti-AI regulation in California and how we can fight back against it.

1) Things Are Getting Better

2) AI Gets Political: Why It Matters for Techno-Optimists

With the attempted assassination of Trump and the U.S. Presidential election coming up, unfortunately, AI is about to get political.

I know some readers probably don’t want to hear this, but it is relevant to techno-optimism and helping people thrive in the age of AI, which is my goal with this newsletter.

It’s worth noting that I consider myself a centrist and have voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past. I generally hate politics and think the political parties are divisive by design.

So, I will write about politics only when absolutely necessary. After my recent conversation with Anjney Midha of A16Z, I’ve come to believe this discussion is necessary and critical for the future of America and the world.

Silicon Valley Shifts Right

This week, A16Z partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz announced they would donate to the Trump campaign. In the video below, they explain why. It’s worth watching to understand their logic.

This is a big deal. It’s a sign that something significant has changed since 2020.

In 2016 and 2020, in Silicon Valley, it was a career death sentence to even hint at being Republican.

But now, some of Silicon Valley's most influential people openly support Trump. Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz. The list goes on and on.

And now Trump’s VP pick, JD Vance, is an ex-Venture Capitalist. Silicon Valley royalty Peter Thiel funded his campaign for the Senate.

It’s hard to understate how big of a shift this is. Everyone should take note and try to reflect on why this shift is happening.

Trump Drafts Pro-AI Order

The Washington Post reports that Trump’s team is drafting an AI executive order that proposes "Manhattan Projects" for military AI and aims to reduce AI regulations to foster innovation for AI startups.

And, JD Vance, Trump’s VP pick, has tweeted about the importance of open-source AI.

This is starting to sound like one of the most techno-optimist administrations ever. It reminds me of Obama's techno-optimism in 2008.

In contrast, the Biden administration seems focused on helping AI by regulating it to make it “safer,” which, from my perspective, typically means curtailing freedom of speech. And creating regulations that just slow down innovation. And in some cases, like SB-1047 in California, flat out will kill open-source AI.

Why This Matters

The contrast between the two political sides in America is huge and growing. As of right now, the Trump administration is the pro-AI party. And the Biden administration is the pro-AI regulation party.

This matters a lot because, in my opinion, whoever wins at AI will play a role for possibly centuries in determining what humanity looks like.

We take it for granted that the world has to have freedom like we do today, but that could change.

As Marc Andreessen pointed out in his recent video, America has dominated and led the world by being #1 in the economy, technology, and military. And these 3 pillars are closely linked with one another. If one falls, so do the others. And a lot of the freedom around the world is made possible because countries know America won’t do business with them if they commit human rights violations.

The reason we can even talk about freedom and diversity is because America is #1. I believe if a country that didn’t care about diversity was #1, the world would look very different.

It is critical that America wins the AI race if we want to see a world where freedom and people of all kinds flourish.

3) The Next Wave with Anjney Midha from A16Z

In this week’s episode of The Next Wave, Matt Wolfe and I spoke with Anjney Midha from A16Z about anti-AI regulation in California that could kill open-source AI. Check it out!

It would also help if you subscribe to The Next Wave on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. That’d make HubSpot and me very happy.

4) The Five Levels of AI

A recent leak at OpenAI revealed their chart of 5 Levels of AI.

They said we’re currently at Level 1. However, the shocker was that the OpenAI leadership reportedly told employees that OpenAI was nearing level 2, meaning AI that can reason with human-level problem-solving.

In my opinion, from level 2, there is a clear path all the way to level 5.

Buckle up. We’re on the road to AGI, probably within 2-5 years. Prepare accordingly.

5) Andrej Karpathy Announces AI+Education Company

One of the greatest AI engineers and educators of our time, Andrej Karpathy(ex Tesla/OpenAI), has announced Eureka Labs.

Andrej says he’s building a new kind of school that is AI native. Rethinking education from the ground up from first principles.

I’m really passionate about this. Many might not know this, but I was one of the youngest mentors ever for Peter Thiel’s 20under20 program. I strongly believe in rethinking education for the modern age of AI.

I can’t wait to see what Andrej does with this.

That’s all for today. Please consider sharing the newsletter with your friends if you think they’d enjoy it. 🙏

Please give me feedback on Twitter. I am still figuring out the best format for this newsletter. Which part did you like? Dislike? Do you have other suggestions? Please let me know—just tweet @NathanLands.

-Nathan