TRUMP SIGNS AI ORDER CREATING VOLUNTARY SYSTEM FOR EARLY GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO NEW MODELS

Throughout human history, every transformative technology has been used for both good and evil. Fire cooked food and burned cities. The printing press spread knowledge and propaganda. Nuclear energy powers hospitals and lights homes, but it also produces the most destructive weapons ever created.

Artificial intelligence will be no different. So, the question is no longer whether AI should exist, because it already does. The question we are all facing is whether the forces that seek to use AI for good will be stronger than the forces of AI for evil.

This is where Pope Leo and President Donald Trump represent two sides of the same challenge. The pope warns us about the moral risks of AI, while Trump has argued that the United States must move aggressively to develop AI and maintain technological leadership. Both perspectives are correct.

The pope is right that humans must remain in control. Trump is right that the U.S. cannot afford to fall behind.

If the U.S. slows down while China accelerates, we will not create a safer world. We simply create a world where authoritarian governments lead the development of the most powerful technology in human history. That is not a future America should welcome.

Some advocates argue that governments should heavily regulate AI before it advances any further. While well-intentioned, such proposals overlook a fundamental reality: we still do not fully understand the technology ourselves. We know how to build these systems. We know how to train them. We know how to improve them.

But even many of the world’s leading AI researchers acknowledge that they do not completely understand why certain capabilities emerge or why these systems often perform tasks their creators never explicitly taught them to do. Attempting to comprehensively regulate a technology that is still being discovered is like trying to write traffic laws before the automobile has been invented. Innovation moves too quickly, knowledge evolves too rapidly, and America’s competitors are not waiting for permission.

This is especially important in cybersecurity. China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries are already investing heavily in AI-enabled cyber capabilities. AI can now help identify vulnerabilities, automate attacks, generate malicious code, and dramatically increase the speed and scale of cyber operations.

Again, the challenge is not to stop AI, because we can’t. The answer is to build stronger defenders. In other words, as China trains hackers, the U.S. should be training defenders.

America needs a new generation of cyber soldiers, highly trained professionals who can use AI to protect critical infrastructure, defend our digital borders, and secure everything from power grids and water systems to hospitals and financial institutions. In many ways, this reflects a timeless truth found throughout both faith and history.

There has always been a struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, and constructive and destructive uses of power. Technology does not change that reality. It simply gives both sides new tools.

In truth, AI is not inherently good or evil. It’s simply a force multiplier, and the future will belong to those who use it wisely.

BYRON DONALDS VOICES RARE DISAGREEMENT WITH TRUMP ON AI POLICY

Pope Leo is right to remind us that humanity must remain in charge of technology. But the path forward is not restriction and fear. The path forward is leadership. America must move faster, innovate responsibly, train millions of cyber defenders, and ensure that democratic values guide the future of AI.

The genie is out of the bottle. Now we must decide who will lead it.

Arnie Bellini is a tech entrepreneur and CyberBay evangelist, chairman of ConnectSecure, founder of ConnectWise, and founder of the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at the University of South Florida. Bellini built ConnectWise into one of the world’s leading software companies serving the managed services industry. He is a leading advocate for cybersecurity education, workforce development, and strengthening America’s digital defenses through AI and cybersecurity innovation.