Trump signs decree on the development of artificial intelligence “without ideological prejudices”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on artificial intelligence on Thursday that will repeal previous government policies that he says “act as barriers to American innovation in AI.”

To maintain global leadership in AI technology, “we must develop AI systems free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas,” Trump’s order says.

The new order does not specify which existing policies hinder the development of AI, but aims to track down and review “all policies, directives, regulations, orders and other actions taken” following the sweeping AI decree. former President Joe Biden. 2023, which Trump canceled on Monday. All of these Biden-era actions must be suspended if they do not align with Trump’s new directive that AI should “promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”

Last year, the Biden administration issued a policy directive that U.S. federal agencies must demonstrate their artificial intelligence the tools do not harm the public or stop using them. Trump’s order directs the White House to review and reissue these guidelines, which affect how agencies acquire and use AI tools.

Biden’s executive order, the Trump administration said, “established unnecessarily burdensome requirements for companies developing and deploying AI that would stifle private sector innovation and threaten America’s technological leadership.”

Trump’s order also calls for developing an action plan on AI within 180 days. The work will be led by a small group of White House technology and science officials, including a new special adviser for AI and cryptography – a role played by Trump. given to a venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks.

Trump repealed Biden’s 2023 safeguards for rapidly developing AI technology just hours after he returned to the White House on Monday.

Until Thursday, it was unclear whether Trump planned to replace Biden’s AI policy with his own order. Trump had also signed executive orders on AI during his previous term, including a 2019 executive order directing federal agencies to prioritize AI research and development, which still stands today .

Much of Biden’s 2023 order sparked a sprint across government agencies to study the impact of AI on everything from cybersecurity risks to its effects on education, workplaces and public benefits, ensuring that AI tools do not harm people. This work is largely complete.

One major element that remained – until Trump rescinded it on Monday – was the requirement that tech companies build the most powerful AI models share details with the government about how these systems work before they are made public.

The Trump order’s emphasis on “human flourishing” echoes the language of his campaign’s long-standing promise to reverse Biden’s AI policy once he returns to the White House. It also fits with ideas championed by Trump adviser Elon Musk, who has warned of the dangers of what he calls “woke AI,” which reflects liberal biases.

In a statement, Americans for Responsible Innovation, a nonprofit, said Trump had “made it clear from day one that his top priority on AI was to out-innovate the rest of the world.”

“Today’s executive order is a placeholder until the administration has the opportunity to develop a comprehensive strategy to implement this vision,” said the organization’s executive director, Eric Gastfriend.

Agencies had already frozen work on AI policies initiated by the last administration after Trump repealed Biden’s executive order on Monday, Gastfriend said.

“This new instruction should not come as a surprise,” he said.