Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
President Trump on Thursday signed executive orders aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness in AI and tech.
Why it matters: The approach is a departure from the Biden administration's executive order that focused on regulating the technology.
- Industry players had been asking for the government to focus on specific risks and assess how existing laws already apply to AI.
What they're saying: "We're basically announcing the administration's policy to make America the world capital in artificial intelligence and to dominate and to lead the world in AI," David Sacks, Trump's AI and crypto czar, said in a signing ceremony in the Oval Office.
- "It is the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security," the EO says.
What's inside: The EO states that the U.S. must "develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas."
- It calls for the administration to develop an AI "action plan" within 180 days.
- The EO also calls for White House officials and agency heads to immediately review and freeze any policies from the rescinded Biden-era AI executive order.
- The Office of Management and Budget has 60 days to revise its AI compliance plan memos to make them consistent with Trump's EO.
Trump also signed an executive order establishing his President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to bring industry and academia together to maintain U.S. tech and science leadership.
- The EO specifically calls out "transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced biotechnology."
The big picture: AI companies are racing to develop the technology, and recent executive orders on AI and energy are meant to support that.
- Earlier this week, Trump announced billions in private AI investment through Stargate, a partnership between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and the UAE's MGX.
- Trump on Thursday responded to Elon Musk's claim that Stargate does not actually have the money needed: "The government's not putting up anything. They're very rich people, so I hope they do."
- Trump said he doesn't take Musk's comments personally and chalked it up to Musk hating one of the people on the board. Trump said he relates as he has "certain hatreds" of people, too.
Our thought bubble: Much of the Biden EO is already implemented across federal agencies, but a requirement for developers of the most advanced AI models to share the results of safety testing with the government is now gone.
- Trump has still not offered an alternative. The executive order itself does not detail how to advance AI innovation but rather directs a study on how to do that.
