Examining the tech stances of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, plus J.D. Vance

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a product of two decades of California politics who has longstanding ties to the tech and AI communities in her home state.

But in her role as President Joe Biden's vice president during the past four years, Harris was tasked with overseeing Biden's executive order on AI, with its emphasis on government regulation. And it was she who hosted leaders of tech giants at the White House last year and secured pledges from them to focus on AI safety.

In sharp contrast is the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

While Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), has a background in tech venture capital, Trump himself has no tech experience but backs a largely hands-off approach to tech and AI companies.

In simple terms, Trump is anti-regulation, while Harris favors a moderate regulatory stance on big tech and the suddenly emergent generative AI sector, a view that roughly parallels that of Biden.

In this episode of the Targeting AI podcast from TechTarget Editorial, three commentators on the confluence of tech and AI and politics registered their analyses of the complex dynamics of the likely Harris-Trump faceoff.

Makenzie Holland, big tech and federal regulation senior news writer at TechTarget, emphasized that "there is a huge focus from the Biden-Harris administration on AI safety and trustworthiness."

Meanwhile, "we've obviously seen Trump attack the executive order," she noted.

For R "Ray" Wang, founder and CEO of Constellation Research, the choice for the tech industry is fairly clear.

"I stress the libertarian view because I think that's important to understand that tech doesn't necessarily want to be governed," Wang said.

The other guest on the podcast, Darrell West, a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, has authored a book about policy making in the AI era. He also pointed out the marked divergence of Harris and Trump on tech and AI issues.

"Even though she historically has been close to the tech sector, I actually think she will maintain Biden's tough line on a lot of issues because that's where the party is these days," West said. "And also that's where public opinion is on many tech issues."

Shaun Sutner is senior news director for TechTarget Editorial's information management team, driving coverage of artificial intelligence, analytics and data management technologies. He is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of news experience. Esther Ajao is a TechTarget Editorial news writer and podcast host covering artificial intelligence software and systems.