{"text":[[{"start":6.95,"text":"The writer is a fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She is author of ‘The Tech Coup’"}],[{"start":14.8,"text":"For the past year American tech companies have created a collective inaction problem by failing to speak out when core rule-of-law principles were attacked. Now they are in for a reckoning. "}],[{"start":23.700000000000003,"text":"Too many CEOs thought they could benefit from quid pro quos and a close relationship with President Donald Trump. They cheered on his broad policies of deregulation and stayed largely quiet when his erratic policies hurt others. Now that the consequences of the Trump administration’s political discretion are landing closer to home, they are rediscovering their appetite for fair and transparent rules that apply to everyone."}],[{"start":47.650000000000006,"text":"This month, OpenAI released a document that called for “public accountability, transparency and oversight” in AI policy by “representative government”. Google’s Demis Hassabis is among those who have called for a US-led coalition to shape international AI rules at the recent G7 summit. "}],[{"start":65.45,"text":"Even if formulated diplomatically, this is a turnaround from the sector’s initial embrace of Trump’s second term, when tech leaders stood in the front row of his inauguration and contributed tens of millions of dollars to the president’s planned White House ballroom. They expected a return on this investment via favourable terms on trade, taxes and infrastructure. Through all of it, they stayed conspicuously quiet when ad hoc executive interventions hit competitors or eroded protections for workers and the public. "}],[{"start":96.25,"text":"Not even policies that directly hurt American business were challenged explicitly. Companies engineered workarounds for the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas instead of opposing its introduction outright. Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang went as far as praising the very policy that was squeezing their own talent pipelines. "}],[{"start":118.5,"text":"Elsewhere, the businesses had to manage tariffs that were imposed by the White House and then reversed by courts and export controls that landed overnight. Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index gives the US 64 out of 100, its lowest score on record. Very little of this drew sustained public objection from the executives whose companies were affected. "}],[{"start":142.35,"text":"Privately, however, concerns were being voiced. Last year the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute surveyed more than a hundred CEOs (most of whom are Republicans) and found deep unease about the price of Trump’s policies. Two-thirds said tariffs had been harmful to their businesses. "}],[{"start":160.9,"text":"The silence was never defensible. If companies care about their self-interest, then it is not even sustainable. "}],[{"start":168.4,"text":"AI is a case in point. For years, companies have argued they should be left to their own devices and that any binding rules would simply hand victory to China. "}],[{"start":178.1,"text":"The administration largely agreed and went so far as to try to prevent states from writing their own AI laws. The industry got the deregulated environment that it asked for — but things are not playing out as it hoped."}],[{"start":190.54999999999998,"text":"The absence of a legitimate rule book does not mean the absence of power plays and executive interventions. Instead it means that interventions are ad hoc, political and unconstrained. "}],[{"start":201.99999999999997,"text":"See the US Department of Commerce’s decision to order Anthropic to cut off access to its newest models for every foreign national, citing national security grounds. Cyber security expert Alex Stamos says that this sort of “vibes-based regulation” could result in public loss of trust towards American AI companies. The world is being given the message that services can and will be cut off at any moment by the White House. "}],[{"start":227.29999999999998,"text":"In the latest C-Suite Outlook survey, executives questioned said that uncertainty was their biggest economic concern for this year. If they want to address this, then companies will need to do more to collectively defend the values and institutions they want to protect and step away from seeking ad hoc favours from the president. Appeals for fairness may not be enough. "}],[{"start":247.95,"text":"It would be a good thing if the private sector could appreciate the value of the foundation of the rule of law more explicitly, and if they could find the courage to be outspoken. "}],[{"start":258.59999999999997,"text":"My expectations are modest. But even if company leaders act only out of cynical self-interest and profit objectives, they could become vocal advocates of a White House that respects and promotes transparent processes that apply equally, serve the public and restore the predictability that markets, allies and citizens all require."}],[{"start":287.95,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782865686_2910.mp3"}