What Trump’s election win could mean for AI, climate and health

^{“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore  is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0}

From repealing climate policies to overturning guidance on the safe development of artificial intelligence (AI), Republican Donald Trump made plenty of promises during his presidential campaign that could affect scientists and science policy. But fulfilling all his pledges won’t be easy.

Trump, now the US president-elect for a second time, will have some advantages as he re-enters the White House in January. The first time he took office, in 2017, his victory was a surprise, and many government watchers who spoke to Nature say he didn’t have a solid plan. By contrast, the Trump administration that enters office next year will be better prepared, and Trump himself is likely to face fewer checks on his power now that he has consolidated control over the Republican establishment, says Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University in Washington DC who studies the evolution of the modern conservative movement.

But that doesn’t mean he will be able to do as he pleases, Dallek adds. “There’s a...