The first Republican presidential debate is fast approaching on August 23, where candidates hope to close the gap on former President Donald Trump and separate from the rest of the pack. In this series, Up For Debate, the Washington Examiner will look at a key issue or policy every day up until debate day and where key candidates stand. Today's story will examine artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence has exploded onto the technology landscape, particularly within the past six months, with companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft leading the forefront of the industry. Generative AI apps like ChatGPT and Midjourney have taken center stage. At the same time, the technology has attracted the attention of lawmakers worldwide who wish to get ahead of the technology and establish necessary guardrails before they can be used to spread misinformation and harm voters.

The president is no exception. Joe Biden has made several decisions in the last eight months that have helped establish rules and guidelines for the technology. If one of the Republican candidates is voted in to replace Biden, they’ll likely need to do the same to ensure the technology is safe and secure.

UP FOR DEBATE: WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND THE REST OF REPUBLICAN 2024 FIELD STAND ON KEY ISSUES

Specific positions of several 2024 candidates, however, are currently unclear, and Republicans have not taken a distinct stance on the technology that would distinguish their perspectives from the Democrats. There is agreement that something must be done about AI, but the answers often remain vague or lacking detail.

"AI could become a bigger technology policy issue than past issues," Adam Thierer, senior counsel at the R Street Institute, told the Washington Examiner. "Because it incorporates so many more concerns or dimensions than past technology policy issues." These dimensions include manufacturing, free speech, national security, and many other angles, Thierer said.

The Washington Examiner contacted the leading Republican candidates about their takes on AI. Here’s where they stand.

DONALD TRUMP

Trump invested a surprising amount into improving American artificial intelligence.

The former president launched the American Artificial Intelligence initiative in February 2019, which would set a vision for establishing the U.S. as a leading nation when it comes to AI. While the initial order was just words, the White House followed up in August 2020 by investing more than $1 billion into building centers to help research AI and quantum computing technology as part of an initiative to compete with China. Trump signed an executive order in December 2020 to expand the AI talent pipeline so the federal government could hire appropriate staff to handle the technology.

Trump has not spoken much on the subject of AI since he left office, making it unclear if he still holds similar convictions as before. His campaign team has embraced the technology, releasing multiple ads featuring AI-generated images.

Trump’s team did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

NIKKI HALEY

The former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration has not spoken on the campaign trail about the technology, but her team presented her position.

“Artificial intelligence in the hands of an enemy like Communist China is a national security threat, and America must make sure we are always one step ahead,” Haley spokesman Ken Farnaso told the Washington Examiner.

“That means ensuring China stops stealing our technology and working with our tech companies to establish ground rules. President Nikki Haley will not allow the CCP to gain the upper hand in AI," Farnaso added.

Haley's concerns echo those of the national security industry, which has argued that the United States military needs to stay ahead of China for security reasons. The United States is currently restricting China's access to semiconductors and AI-related products to stifle Chinese innovation.

RON DESANTIS

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has not spoken about his policy approach to AI or how he intends to regulate it. Instead, he has used it as a tool in his push for culture war politics. The Florida governor told a town hall event in Osceola, Iowa, that “some of these big AI companies, a lot of their data, you know, is more woke. It does have a little bit of a political agenda. And so, there’s a lot of power to it.”

DeSantis emphasized the need for guardrails and sufficient technology to compete with China in product development.

A pro-DeSantis PAC released advertising that included AI-generated images of Trump hugging former National Institute of Health director Anthony Fauci to emphasize his connection with the controversial medical professional.

DeSantis’s team did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC)

Scott has not spoken about the technology, although he was seen attending at least one of the hearings organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on how AI works.

Scott’s team did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY

The tech entrepreneur has been vocal about how to handle AI even before he decided to run. Ramaswamy emphasized that "outright bans" are not a good answer to reining in the technology. Rather, he argues that lawmakers need to "set clear rules for who bears liability for unforeseen consequences of AI protocols" and that the public needs to be "very skeptical of proposed regulations from large companies currently trying to commercialize AI."

When Elon Musk and AI leaders spoke out against an international pause on AI training, Ramaswamy demurred.

“A temporary pause amongst U.S. companies, if China is actually running forward with it, that doesn't do anything in alleviating the risks of AI," Ramaswamy concluded. "It exacerbates them because Americans are at an even greater risk instead."

Ramaswamy's team did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.

OTHERS

Some candidates have jumped at the chance to use the new technology for their own campaigning. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez launched a chatbot in July that would answer a select number of questions about the candidate’s positions.

Suarez also attempted to position himself as the "only candidate that's been able to lay out a vision to compete with China" in his initial pitch on Fox News. This included positioning the U.S. to "compete with China economically on the technologies of the future, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, crypto, etc."

Former Congressman Will Hurd has been notably vocal on the technology during his campaign run, holding up his six years of tech-oriented policy decision-making in Congress as evidence of his prowess on the topic.

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Hurd argued that the U.S. trade war with China would be a “new Cold War” and that the conflict would be won on a “technology battlefield.” Hurd expressed support for requiring licenses of AI developers, a notion proposed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman during his appearance before Congress in May. He brought up the idea of using the National Institute of Standards and Technology to oversee the licensing rather than creating a new agency.

The former OpenAI board member compared the power of AI to nuclear fission, and emphasized the need for the U.S. to "make AI follow the law."