JD Vance took to the stage at the Paris AI Action Summit on Wednesday declaring that, “the United States of America is the leader in AI and our administration plans to keep it that way.”
“The US possesses all components across the full AI stack, including advanced semiconductor design, frontier algorithms, and, of course, transformational applications,” Vance said. “Now the computing power this stack requires is integral to advancing AI technology, and to safeguard America’s advantage, the Trump administration will ensure the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S. with American-designed and manufactured chips.”
Vance also criticized the European Union’s existing AI and tech regulations, especially the Digital Services Act and GDPR, as “onerous international rules” that smother smaller companies in legal costs and stifle free speech because they prevent adults from “accessing an opinion that the government thinks is misinformation.” He went on to note that the U.S. legislature is already working to remove its regulations for the industry and invited other countries to follow America’s lead on the matter.
“The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints,” Vance said. “Now America cannot and will not accept that.”
He also discussed the technology’s power demands, arguing that these evolving AI systems need reliable electricity supplies and access to high-quality semiconductors, but lamented that many countries are instead choosing to eliminate stable sources of power from their national grids. Ironically, Vance also warned against nations cozying up to authoritarian regimes, claiming that partnerships with such nations would not be profitable in the long-term.
“Some of us in this room have learned from experience, partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in, and seize your information infrastructure,” VP JD Vance said. “Should a deal seem too good to be true, just remember the old adage that we learned in Silicon Valley, ‘If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.’”