By The Economist
Publication Date: 2026-04-21 05:31:00
Should a handful of men be trusted with the world’s most powerful new technology? Five geeks so famous you can recognize them by their first names—Dario, Demis, Elon, Mark, and Sam—exercise almost godlike control over the artificial intelligence models that will shape the future. The Trump administration has turned away even as these models have gained breathtaking capabilities, believing that full competition between private companies is the best way to ensure America wins the AI race against China.
Until now. Suddenly, America’s liberal approach to AI appears to be coming to an end. That’s because the models’ dizzying progress also poses a threat to America’s national security and unnerves members of the Trump administration who were previously more inclined to worry about overregulation. At the same time, the growing discontent of American voters is making AI a political lightning rod. A laissez-faire approach is no longer politically tenable or…
