Originally published in Tech Policy Press

Roberta Braga / Jan 27, 2025

The new Trump administration must meet this moment, writes Roberta Braga, founder and executive director of the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas.

Barely 24 hours after Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, on January 21, the new head of state invited executives from OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle to the White House to announce a private sector investment of $500 billion to build the “physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI” over the next four years. The announcement came just hours after President Trump revoked an October 2023 executive order signed by former President Joe Biden to assure the development of AI was done in line with various principles related to safety and security, responsible innovation, a commitment to the protection of workers, and respect for the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans.

In a democracy, innovation must happen alongside strong safeguards for the people. Latino voters are telling us they are concerned about AI’s impact on their jobs and value urgent and strong regulation and oversight of AI. Per DDIA/YouGov waves of polling in March/April and in September of 2024, over 66% of Latinos express concern that “AI will take jobs away from ordinary people,” and over 68% agree “there is a pressing need for stricter regulations and oversight of artificial intelligence technologies.”

Fresh into his second term in office, Trump would do well to listen closely to the concerns of one of the most powerful communities of voters in this country. Though clearly not at the top of his agenda, the Trump Administration, working with Congress, must prioritize advancing responsible AI regulations that foster innovation while meeting the needs of the country's 36.2 million Latino voters.

How US Latinos Use and Relate to AI

Among Latino adults in the US, adoption of generative AI tools remains modest but is increasing; in March/April, 15% of Latinos in our 3,000+ person sample reported using OpeAI’s ChatGPT (the most popular of the tools of those we asked about) regularly. That percentage grew to 20% in September.

Trust in the accuracy of AI output among users also rose, from 60% in March/April to 66% in September.

Yet while many Latinos are hopeful about AI's potential for the future, concerns about its economic impacts are far more prevalent, with 66% agreeing that AI will “take jobs away from ordinary people.

Crucially, a majority of Latinos agree there is an urgent need for AI regulation – 69% in September (Wave 2) compared to 68% in March/April (Wave 1).

It is clear AI has the potential to aid society in new medical discoveries and boost productivity—for example, 56% of Latinos believe it can enable medical discoveries, and 44% see it as a tool to enhance productivity. That said, this type of innovation cannot come at the expense of people who will be deeply impacted by economic and labor market shifts with no guardrails.

We’ve come too far, too fast. As a society, we cannot insist on breaking barriers while leaving people behind. Over the next 100 days, the Trump Administration must make good on its promises to Latino voters to lower costs and boost economic growth. Yet preserving an American Dream that guarantees financial security for all voters so they can continue to drive the economy forward cannot be done without AI regulations that assure technology is deployed safely, that prevent exploitation of our privacy and data, and that set us up to adapt to and thrive in a changing job market.