The US presidential debate omitted AI, quantum, cryptocurrency, blockchain, central bank digital currency, deepfake, and election security.
On June 27, the inaugural of three presidential debates in the United States before the 2024 election was conducted in Atlanta. It was the sole presidential debate to be broadcast without a studio audience since 1960. However, there were other issues besides the presence of the audience.
Although the debate addressed various subjects, including the economy, voter perception, and immigration, the terms “artificial intelligence” and “quantum computing” were not mentioned.
This is significant in 2024 for a variety of reasons. Initially, the United States’ stock market, economy, and technology sector have been significantly affected by artificial intelligence (AI) over the past four years.
Furthermore, the subsequent president of the United States may be the first to confront “Q-Day,” the theoretical threshold at which quantum computers become potent enough to penetrate conventional encryption methods.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Six or seven of Earth’s ten most valuable companies are U.S.-based technology and investment firms specializing in AI products, investments, and services, depending on whether Apple is included.
In a recent study, Bank of America asserts that AI will have contributed over $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030, just two years after the next U.S. president’s tenure. The United States is expected to receive the majority of this revenue.
Given this, it is perplexing that the debate personnel and CNN moderators did not address the subject. Additionally, it is essential to note that neither candidate addressed artificial intelligence.
During the debate, the incumbent, Joe Biden, even asserted that the United States was only confronted with one existential threat: climate change.
Although it is accurate that the vast majority of reputable scientists worldwide concur that climate change poses an existential threat, a substantial number of AI insiders think that the same could be said about the threat posed by artificial general intelligence (machines capable of human-level cognition).
Quantum computing
“Quantum computing” was another term not addressed during the debate. Even though AI has dominated the tech news headlines in recent years, numerous scientists think we are rapidly approaching the point at which quantum computers will benefit scientific simulations, banking and finance, shipping and logistics, and chemical and materials discovery.
Regrettably, this implies that we are also approaching the point at which bad actors and U.S. adversaries could potentially construct and employ a quantum computer to penetrate encryption and steal data.
Additionally, there was no reference to blockchain or cryptocurrency during the debate, as reported by Cointelegraph. Additionally, there was no discourse regarding election security, deepfakes, or social media.
It is conceivable that the debate moderators purposefully excluded technology from the discussion. The sole occurrence of a technological topic occurred when both candidates expressed their concurrence that the United States requires machines capable of detecting fentanyl at its southern border.
Nevertheless, it is also feasible that one of the two forthcoming debates will include inquiries and discussions regarding more technological and financial technology-related subjects.
