US Presidential Candidates Remain Notably Silent on Pivotal Tech Topics During First Debate

With the election set for later this year, we saw the first presidential debate being conducted last month. In addition to being the only televised presidential debate since the 1960s to be carried out without an audience, it also did not touch on topics such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain or cryptocurrency, despite the popularity of these topics.

This is notable for a number of reasons.

For starters, artificial intelligence has had a huge impact on the American economy, stock market and technology sector over the last four years. American-based investment and technology companies that specialize in artificial intelligence products, services or investments also make up six or seven of the ten most valuable companies globally.

A study recently published by Bank of America asserted that by 2030, artificial intelligence would have brought more than $13 trillion to the global economy, with America set to enjoy a huge portion of this. In that regard, it’s a bit puzzling that CNN moderators and debate staff didn’t mention the subject and neither candidate spoke about it.

At one point in the debate, President Joseph Biden even claimed that climate change was the sole threat facing Americans. This is not to mean that climate change isn’t an existential threat. However, the threat of artificial intelligence being capable of human-level cognition may be just as big a threat.

With regard to quantum computing, many researchers believe society is reaching the point where quantum computers can be used in finance and banking, scientific simulations, materials and chemicals discovery, as well as shipping and logistics. While this is good news, it also means that adversaries of America and other parties could also build and use these computers to crack encryptions and steal sensitive data.

It is expected that the next president of the United States may be the first to deal with Q-Day, that is, when large-scale quantum computers will become powerful enough to crack standard encryption systems. The recently held debate made no mention of this, despite the matter’s sensitivity. The debate also didn’t touch on deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence, social media or election security.

It is possible that the organizers of the debate intentionally excluded any tech-related topic out of this debate, with the only mention of any related issue being when both candidates agreed that America needed machines that could detect fentanyl at the country’s southern border. It is also possible that debates scheduled for the future will include discussions and questions on more fintech- and tech-related topics.

Major AI companies such as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) will be following future presidential debates to see how the views of the candidates could shape the future policies impacting the industry.

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