"Trump's V.P. Pick J.D. Vance Praised for Comments Supporting Open Source AI Initiative"

Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, today to announce his vice presidential pick for the 2024 U.S. election: J.D. Vance. This announcement comes just days after Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.

J.D. Vance, a first-term Republican Senator from Ohio, gained prominence as the author of Hillbilly Elegy, a 2016 memoir profiling the sociocultural landscape of rural Appalachia. Additionally, he has a background as a venture capitalist, notably receiving funding from influential figures like Peter Thiel.

Despite some controversial views—such as his campaign commitment to “end abortion”—Vance has garnered attention from members of the tech community following comments that appear to support open-source AI and oppose stringent regulations in the sector.

Last week, Vance testified during a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing titled "The Need to Protect Americans’ Privacy and the AI Accelerant." He expressed concern about large tech companies pushing for rapid regulation, stating:

“Very often CEOs, especially of larger technology companies that I think already have advantageous positions in AI, will come and talk about the terrible safety dangers of this new technology and how Congress needs to jump up and regulate as quickly as possible. And I can’t help but worry that if we do something under duress from the current incumbents, it’s going to be to the advantage of those incumbents and not to the advantage of the American consumer.”

Many tech advocates on X interpreted Vance's comments as a commitment to open-source AI development without burdensome regulations. Brian Chau, executive director of the pro-open-source nonprofit Alliance for the Future, shared one of Vance's quotes, underscoring this sentiment.

Tetsuo, a self-described accelerationist, summarized Vance’s stance with the quote, “The solution is open source,” though it could not be verified directly from the hearing transcript. Bindu Reddy, CEO of Abacus AI, echoed this excitement, declaring, “Vance NAILS IT!” in her appreciation of his perspective.

Dan Barrett, founder of the community curation startup Smashing, even suggested he might consider voting for Trump and Vance due to Vance’s stance on AI deregulation.

While the number of tech supporters on X may be small relative to the broader electorate, their influential positions could reshape perceptions of Vance. This shift may attract support from other companies focused on open-source AI, such as Meta Platforms. However, it remains uncertain if Vance’s views align with Trump and his team’s overall strategy.