Key Takeaways
Following through on a campaign promise, Donald Trump has revoked Joe Biden’s executive order on AI safety.
At the dawn of a presidency that is expected to enact an aggressive deregulatory agenda, the move signals Trump’s intention to boost the American AI industry by cutting red tape and loosening restrictions.
Issued in October 2024, Biden’s “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” was meant to usher in a new era of federal AI regulation.
The order set out the White House’s AI policy goals and required federal agencies to act according to these principles.
Upon publication, Biden’s Executive Order was criticized by many in the AI industry, who feared it would increase their regulatory burden and stifle innovation.
Without a mandate to ensure safe and secure AI development, federal agencies are likely to step back from regulating the technology under Trump.
Individual states may still pick up the slack with their own AI safety frameworks. But Trump and the Republican party have signaled their support for a laissez-faire approach from Washington.
Although short on specifics, Biden’s Executive Order was imbued with the kind of emphases prioritized by Democrats.
While it called for “appropriate safeguards against fraud, unintended bias, discrimination, infringements on privacy, and other harms from AI,” it made no mention of free speech protections.
This prompted pushback from Republicans, who argued the order imposed “radical leftwing ideas” on the industry and called for AI development “rooted in free speech and human flourishing.”
Republicans’ focus on freedom of expression chimes with Trump’s use of AI during the 2024 election campaign when he frequently shared unlabelled deepfakes that critics have condemned as misinformation.
More broadly, the notion that moderation of online discourse impinges on First Amendment rights forms a central pillar of the MAGA ideology. From this perspective, the previous administration’s efforts to curb AI-generated misinformation are continuous with its alleged censorship of conservative viewpoints.
Besides repealing Biden-era regulations, Trump’s plans to support the American AI industry center on energy and tax policy.
On his first day in office, the president declared a national energy emergency, enabling him to fast-track new infrastructure projects that could significantly boost power-hungry AI training outfits.
Another executive order reportedly being considered would kickstart a series of “Manhattan Projects” to advance military AI capabilities.
Finally, the new administration’s plan to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts could free up capital for technology firms to invest in research and development, helping to spur further AI innovation.