Trump’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence: A Federal Response to State Regulation
On Thursday, Donald Trump enacted an executive order aimed at curtailing state-level legislation that imposes restrictions on artificial intelligence. This decree also establishes a federal task force tasked with the explicit responsibility of contesting any state regulations pertaining to this rapidly evolving technology.
During the signing ceremony, Trump highlighted the eagerness of AI enterprises to “invest” within the United States, cautioning that “if they had to secure 50 disparate approvals from 50 distinct states, you could forget it.”
Earlier this year, an attempt to impose a 10-year moratorium on state regulations related to AI was thwarted when the Senate voted overwhelmingly—99-1—to exclude the ban from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The newly instituted executive order revives this initiative, albeit in a manner that lacks statutory authority.
The directive, entitled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” represents a significant victory for Silicon Valley and AI proponents who argue that a fragmented landscape of state regulations would encumber the industry with excessive bureaucracy.
However, neither the AI sector nor the Trump administration has articulated comprehensive frameworks to tackle the social, environmental, and political ramifications of AI, thus maintaining an inadequately regulated federal environment compared to the stringency some states have already adopted.
This order incorporates several mandates aimed at obstructing the regulation of AI, mandating the Department of Justice to establish an “AI Litigation Task Force” charged solely with contesting state legislation. It also requires a review of existing state mandates that compel AI models to adjust their outputs for truthful accuracy.
States such as California—where companies must disclose safety assessments for new AI systems—and Colorado, which obliges employers to conduct risk evaluations for algorithmic discrimination in hiring, may be key targets for this initiative.
State leaders and various civil liberties organizations have registered their dissent regarding Trump’s executive order.
Critics contend that this move will perpetuate Silicon Valley’s dominance while exposing vulnerable populations, including children, to the adverse impacts of chatbots, surveillance technologies, and algorithmic governance.
“Trump’s campaign to intimidate and penalize states striving to implement reasonable AI regulations merely reiterates his agenda of ceding control of this transformative technology to corporate giants,” stated Teri Olle, vice-president of Economic Security California Action, an organization that co-sponsored AI safety legislation this year in California. “This discourse is not genuinely about fostering American innovation.”
Trump has depicted the urgent need for coherent AI regulation as essential not only for advancing technology but also for safeguarding against perceived leftist ideologies infiltrating generative AI—a familiar concern for conservative figures, including Elon Musk.
“Navigating through 50 states is impractical. A single unified approval is necessary. Fifty is a catastrophe. One ‘woke’ state could enforce its norms, and it would be untenable,” Trump asserted during the recent US-Saudi Investment Forum. “We must expedite AI development, free from such encumbrances.”
In a recent post on Truth Social, he reiterated: “We are currently outpacing ALL NATIONS in this race, yet that momentum could dissipate quickly with 50 states—many of whom may be problematic—entangled in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS. AI WILL BE STIFLED IN ITS INFANCY!”
The Trump administration has consistently pledged to position the United States at the forefront of artificial intelligence capabilities, part of a larger AI arms race with China.
In this endeavor, the administration has largely sidelined apprehensions voiced by rights advocates and researchers regarding environmental repercussions, the potential for an economic crisis stemming from a financial bubble, and AI’s dangers to mental health and misinformation proliferation.
“Hand-wringing over safety will not win the AI future,” JD Vance declared in a February address at an AI summit.
The administration has cultivated significant connections with industry leaders, appointing tech magnates to pivotal governmental roles.
The executive order appoints a special adviser for AI and cryptocurrency—currently David Sacks, a billionaire venture capitalist—to collaborate with the litigation task force in determining which state laws to challenge.
Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, condemned the executive order as “poor policy.”
The Trump-Sacks directive underscores that the White House predominantly heeds the interests of powerful tech CEOs rather than the general populace they purport to serve.
This AI executive order will likely be regarded as an unmitigated disaster, positioning the Trump administration at odds with over two-thirds of Americans and its AI-skeptical MAGA base, Haworth remarked.
Source link: Theguardian.com.
