Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump has rescinded a slew of executive orders from former President Joe Biden within hours of taking office Monday — including one aimed at ensuring safe, secure and reliable AI. This is not a surprise, however, as Trump made rolling back AI regulation part of his campaign.
Biden’s order, called the “Executive Order for the Development and Safe, Secure, and Trusted Use of Artificial Intelligence,” was published in October 2023. He acknowledged that AI poses both “promise and danger” to society, with the potential to ” exacerbate societal harms such as fraud, discrimination, prejudice,” as well as misinformation and other concerns.
The action prioritized American workers and demanded that no workers or jobs be harmed by AI. It also included other safeguards to promote a fair and open AI marketplace, protect individuals’ personal information in the AI era, and included other measures to promote equitable AI.
Linking to Order now leads to a 404 error message, meaning the page has since been taken down. Trump’s announcement of the rescinding of the AI order came along with about 75 other rescinded orders and actions, including killing actions taken through January 16. Trump’s announcement claims that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which the AI order partially addresses, have “corrupted” American institutions by “replacing hard work, merit and equality with a divisive and dangerous preference for hierarchy.” “
“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that stifles AI Innovation and imposes radical leftist ideas on the development of this technology,” the Republican Party pledged in July of last year, adding: “In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and human flourishing.”
The decision to waive Biden’s order doesn’t mean Trump doesn’t believe AI comes with risks, however, as Trump previously called AI a “superpower” with “alarming” potential.
When Biden’s AI Order was created, half a dozen US politicians applauded the move along with industry leaders at the time, including Microsoft President Brad Smith, who called it a “critical step forward in the governance of AI technology.” (In October, Microsoft founder Bill Gates quietly endorsed Kamala Harris for president with a $50 million donation.)
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Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer at Google parent company Alphabet, also commented on the order in 2023, stating: “We are reviewing today’s Executive Order and are confident that our longstanding AI liability practices will aligns with its principles. We will continue to work together to maximize AI’s potential for good.”
Executives from Adobe and Box, as well as several union and labor leaders, also praised AI’s now-rescinded order. The US has little regulation around AI compared to other regions such as the EU. In March of last year, the European Union’s AI Act was passed into law, putting a ban on the use of biometric data and guardrails around other invasive AI applications. But some, like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, have argued that the lack of AI regulation in the US is good.
Trump, like Biden, sees AI as a key area of competition with other nations like China. In Biden’s last week, his administration announced a regulatory framework for advanced AI and also expanded restrictions on the export of certain chips and equipment for running AI models to countries of concern designated by the US, including China.
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About Kate Irwin
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