How tech is weighing in on Trump 2.0's AI stance



Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Major AI companies are hoping to shape how the White House will approach AI policy as the government shifts from a risk-averse approach to one of full-throttle acceleration.
Why it matters: Trump administration officials have made it clear beating China is a major priority, and have been knocking down or reshaping Biden-era AI policy focused on safety.
- March 15 marks the deadline for comment on the Office of Science and Technology Policy's "Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan," following President Trump's executive order calling for a new AI policy plan.
Catch up quick: We already summed up what Anthropic and OpenAI told the White House. Here are a few more notable filings we reviewed:
Google: The company calls for AI investment both federally and locally, for balanced export controls, public-private partnerships with national labs, and pre-emption of state-level AI laws.
- Google wants "a risk-based approach to AI applications based on existing regulations" rather than a new set of laws, and that data remains accessible for AI learning.
- The government should procure and adopt AI, and promote U.S. policy internationally, Google says.
Microsoft: The tech giant and major partner of OpenAI calls for investment in AI infrastructure, skills-based training and access to data in a summary of their filing seen by Axios.
- The company wants to see federal permitting for data center and energy projects streamlined, along with boosting the electric grid and supply chains.
- Stronger protections against AI fraud and prioritizing cybersecurity for AI applications are key as well, Microsoft writes, along with support for NIST and bills like the CREATE AI Act.
Mozilla: The corporation behind the Firefox web browser, which offers an open-source LLM AI model, writes to the White House about needing to mitigate risks and promote open-source technology, in a preview of its filing seen by Axios.
- Mozilla calls for government research and funding resources for AI, and says export controls on open-source AI models would be heavy-handed and hurt U.S. competition.
- The company thinks the government should employ open-source AI, and to update antitrust legislation so smaller players can compete in AI.
- The filing also calls for access to AI-related resource consumption data to manage energy resources better, and for deeper investment in educational programs to boost AI talent.
TechNet: The tech lobbying group says that existing legislation often "already provides a way to more effectively regulate the safe use of AI" and it encourages an "incremental" approach to any new regulations in its filing, seen first by Axios.
- TechNet notes that as many in the field are already using the NIST Risk Management Framework, and suggests that any new regulations should incorporate these or similar voluntary standards.
- It also calls for ways to incentivize "responsible AI implementation" in the private sector, including tax credits, deductions, accelerated depreciation expensing for investments, or grants. They recommend increased federal funding for R&D.
- Pre-emption is a priority: "The federal government should look to impose a moratorium on state legislation related specifically to the development of frontier AI models until national standards are adopted."
IBM: The company highlights the "benefits" of open-source AI in its filing, suggesting that the Trump administration fund the National AI Research Resource or develop a national compute strategy to build shared computing and data resources.
- IBM recommends developing an "AI diplomacy" strategy and deputizing the State Department's Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies to "focus on export control restrictions on hardware, not AI model weights."
- IBM also wants the administration to work with Congress on legislation that preempts state AI laws.
Between the lines: Some common themes we observed include a balanced approach to export control, preemption of state laws, adequate funding and research, access to data through permissive copyright rules, and boosting infrastructure.
What's next: The administration has until mid-July to develop and submit the AI "action plan" called for in Trump's EO.