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Shortly after re-entering the White House, President Donald Trump took a significant step regarding the landscape of artificial intelligence by reversing former President Joe Biden’s regulatory framework designed to oversee this rapidly evolving technology.
The implications of Trump’s actions and how they will differ from Biden’s efforts to safeguard AI are still uncertain. The current administration has not provided commentary on the repeal of the Biden policy, and even some of Trump’s ardent supporters in the tech industry are expressing hesitance.
“The prior order contained numerous elements,” remarked Alexandr Wang, CEO of the AI firm Scale. He described Biden’s 2023 executive order as extensive but refrained from pinpointing any specific detrimental aspects. “It’s challenging to assess each component. There are certainly sections with which we align strongly.”
Wang, who was present at Trump’s inauguration events, remains hopeful about potential developments. He and other leaders from Silicon Valley, who had previously collaborated with the Biden administration, have welcomed Trump and express optimism in steering his policies toward reduced regulatory constraints.
In the early stages of Trump’s administration, he has “established a productive atmosphere promoting extensive partnership between the industry and the government,” Wang stated.
Biden’s executive order initiated a comprehensive evaluation across various government sectors to assess AI’s repercussions on areas such as cybersecurity, education, workplace environments, and public services. This foundational work has concluded.
“The documents have been finalized, and the recommendations are accessible for further development,” expressed Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit organization. “The initiatives stemming from the executive order are complete, regardless of its rescission.”
The conclusions drawn from these reports serve as a valuable resource for both the private sector and governmental entities, according to Givens.
Moreover, many of the standards established by Biden’s executive order had origins in previous AI-related directives issued by Trump during his initial term and had continued into the Biden presidency.
“If one looks beyond the political rhetoric, the Biden executive order built upon foundational themes from the first Trump administration and drew bipartisan support in Congress,” Givens noted.
A notable aspect of Biden’s AI directive, which remained operational until the recent repeal, mandated that companies developing powerful AI systems disclose pertinent technical details to the government prior to public deployment.
The discourse surrounding AI in 2023 was notably distinct. ChatGPT had just emerged as a widely-used tool, and Elon Musk—prior to becoming one of Trump’s close advisers—had called for a pause in the development of advanced AI technologies. Biden’s concerns also heightened as he was influenced by narratives, such as those depicted in the film “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” which featured threats from a sentient AI, according to insights from his former deputy chief of staff.
The executive order was developed following commitments from major tech firms like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI in favor of third-party oversight.
Nevertheless, Biden’s order transcended mere oversight by invoking the Defense Production Act—a statute birthed from the Korean War—to mandate that companies provide safety test results and relevant information if their AI systems reached certain thresholds.
The specifics regarding how these confidential exchanges were conducted remain largely undisclosed. However, this government oversight faced criticism last year, particularly from some of Trump’s allies, such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who serves on the board of Meta Platforms.
Andreessen expressed concerns over the summer, stating that it was alarming to consider “deliberately hamstringing ourselves with stringent regulations while competitors worldwide, including China, advance in AI development.”
In line with his campaign promises, Trump is acting to annul Biden’s AI executive order, framing it as a hindrance to innovation and branding it as an imposition of “Radical Leftwing ideas” onto technological development. He has associated this with wider critiques from Musk and other Trump supporters concerning the so-called “woke AI” chatbots that seemingly incorporate liberal biases.
However, it is important to note that Biden’s directive did not infringe on free speech. Instead, it aimed to establish standards for the identification of AI-generated content, a measure designed to mitigate risks of impersonation and deepfake abuse. It also mandated multiple federal agencies to oversee potential adverse impacts of AI applications, cautioning against irresponsible practices that might exacerbate systemic inequities and new forms of discrimination.
A former White House science adviser involved in formulating Biden’s rights-based AI approach characterized Trump’s repeal as a “politically motivated action executed without a constructive alternative.”
Trump’s current stance suggests he is “not as supportive of privacy, civil liberties, and overall safety concerns” tied to advanced AI systems when compared to the Biden administration, remarked Alondra Nelson, a previous acting director in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Addressing these concerns is vital for fostering public trust in the AI technologies being developed, added Nelson, who is currently affiliated with the Center for American Progress.
“Americans exhibit some of the world’s highest levels of skepticism towards AI,” she noted, referencing recent surveys.
While some elements of Biden’s AI policies continue to be in effect for now, such as the AI Safety Institute aimed at national security, Trump has not yet addressed Biden’s ongoing tensions with the tech sector regarding proposed regulations to limit AI chip exports to more than 100 countries to combat Chinese access to sensitive technologies.
Additionally, Trump has refrained from annulling Biden’s latest AI executive order, enacted only a week ago, that aims to eliminate barriers for the expansion of AI data centers in the United States while promoting renewable energy sources for these facilities.
On a recent Tuesday, Trump discussed a collaborative venture that intends to invest up to $500 billion in AI data centers and the necessary electricity infrastructure through a new partnership dubbed Stargate, involving ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI along with Oracle and SoftBank. During the announcement, Trump appeared unfamiliar with Biden’s recent AI order but noted he would not rescind it.
“That strikes me as something I would support,” Trump stated. “I would advocate for federal lands to be utilized for data centers. They are going to be crucial.”
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AP writer Joshua Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
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