Sorelle Friedler

Many American workers associate artificial intelligence with layoffs, less satisfying work, and tech billionaires becoming ever more wealthy at their expense. They may be right. But one can also imagine a world in which the fruits of AI are instead invested in society. What if every K-12 student was taught by well-trained teachers in small classes, every patient interacted with unharried nurses, elders had the opportunity to age with dignity in their own homes or in high-quality residential care facilities, and everyone could find an affordable therapist when needed?

The Trump administration revealed its AI Action Plan in July 2025 with a focus on “global AI dominance” in artificial intelligence. Like so much else in the second Trump administration, AI policy has become an ideologically polarized battleground. This marks a shift from prior administrations, including the first Trump administration, when pairing innovation goals with concerns about AI harm was broadly accepted as a baseline, even if views differed on how to address it.