Vance offers an 'America First' argument on AI deregulation in his first foreign policy speech
PARIS (AP) — In his first big moment on the world stage, Vice President JD Vance delivered an unmistakable message: the United States under the 47th president has room for you on the Trump train — but it also has no problem leaving you behind.
Vance, speaking at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, hewed closely to President Donald Trump's “America First” outlook as he spoke of maintaining U.S. dominance in the surging industry.
He also pressed European nations to step back from “excessive regulation” of the AI sector that he said “could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.”
“Now, just because we’re the leader doesn’t mean we want to or need to go it alone,” Vance said. “But to create that kind of trust, we need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it. And we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation.”
The message was centered on AI, but the tone and substance of Vance's remarks fall in line with a Trump administration that has been approaching policymaking — and it opponents — with the attitude that it's a juggernaut that will not be stopped.
Already, Trump has effectively shut down much of foreign aid through the United States Agency for International Development. He remains insistent that post-war Gaza will be taken over and redeveloped by the U.S. into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” despite Palestinians and much of the Arab world flatly rejecting his plans. He has also threatened to take back the Panama Canal and turn Canada into 51st state.
Vance's remarks contrasted sharply with the overall tenor and content of the summit, which was largely focused on protecting democracies from disinformation and promoting the use of AI technology for the public interest.
“The United States of America is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep that,” Vance said. “The AI future is not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety. It will be won by building.”
Early in his address, he knocked former President Joe Biden's administration for being far too risk averse and referred derisively to a speech that then- Vice President Kamala Harris gave at a summit two years ago.
“I'm not here this morning to talk about AI safety, which was the title of the conference a couple of years ago," Vance said. "I’m here to talk about AI opportunity.”
For Vance, the five-day overseas visit to Paris, and later Munich, for a pair of summits gives him an early chance to rub shoulders with world leaders and the titans of the tech industry.
But his boss threw a little shade at Vance ahead of the trip, telling Fox News that the vice president was “very capable” but that he wasn't ready to endorse him as his heir apparent in 2028.
“I think you have a lot of very capable people," Trump said. "So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early. We’re just starting.”
The Paris summit was billed by organizers France and India as an opportunity for leaders to focus on solutions and standards for shaping a more sustainable AI that works for collective progress.
Vance told emerging AI innovators that America is open for business while expressing disbelief that some “foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints.”
“This administration will not be the one to snuff out the startups and the grad students, producing some of the most groundbreaking applications of artificial intelligence,” Vance said. “Instead, our laws will keep Big Tech, Little Tech and all other developers on a level playing field.”
The vice president arrived in Paris with Trump sparking new tension with world leaders, including some at the AI summit.
Trump on Sunday announced hours before Vance embarked for his trip that he would levy 25% tariffs on all foreign aluminum and steel.
The new tariffs didn't sit well with some U.S. allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement early Tuesday that the U.S. tariffs “will not go unanswered."
Hours later, von der Leyen and Vance sat down for talks at the U.S. embassy. Neither directly addressed the steel and aluminum tariffs in their brief appearance before reporters.
“We also want to make sure that we’re actually engaged in a security partnership that’s good for both Europe and the United States,” Vance said, as Trump has also been pressing for NATO members to dramatically increase domestic spending.
Von der Leyen, for her part, noted a moment in Vance's speech when he called for allies to be motivated by optimism instead of fear.
“I think the same should go for our transatlantic relations," von der Leyen said. "We should look with optimism.”
Vance and his wife, Usha, were hosted for lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elysee Palace.
In an address on the opening day of the summit, Macron took a jab at Trump, contrasting France's push for reducing its reliance on fossil fuels with Trump's belief that pumping more oil could be the answer to solving all that's wrong with the economy.
“In this world, where I have a good friend on the other side of the ocean saying, ‘Drill, baby, drill,’" Macron said. “Here, there's no need to drill. It's just plug, baby, plug."
Vance will head on Thursday to Munich, where he's slated to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Russia's war on Ukraine, visit the site of the former Dachau concentration camp and deliver a much-anticipated address to the Munich Security Conference.
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