Upon taking office, President Trump revoked the Biden administration’s Executive Order (EO) on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligenceopens in new window, which sought to establish guardrails for AI. It called for establishing Chief AI Officers in governmental agencies and establishing processes to ensure that the public was safeguarded against harm with an emphasis on protecting citizens’ privacy and civil rights.
President Trump has issued a new Executive Orderopens in new window that focuses on decreasing barriers to innovation and positioning the United States to be a global leader in AI. Section 2 of the EO states, “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.” Within 180 days of the EO, the White House is calling for action plan proposals from governmental officials such as the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to achieve this goal. Additionally, the Trump administration has issued a request for informationopens in new window to gauge the public’s priorities regarding AI policies. Review the request for information and submit comments by March 15opens in new window.
However, President Trump has signaled interest in retaining a Biden executive orderopens in new window that would allow for federal land to be designated for AI data centers—large facilities that house the infrastructure that AI relies upon. President Trump also recently announced Stargate, a partnership with tech leaders Larry Ellison of Oracle, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Masayoshi Son of SoftBank that is projected to invest $500 billion over the next 4 yearsopens in new window to build several AI data centers throughout the United States. The first site is under construction in Abilene, Texas, and many other states have expressed interest in being considered as a potential site. The potential environmental impact of these data centers has raised concern, as they are incredibly resource intensive to power and cool. There has been little information yet about whether renewable energy sources will be prioritizedopens in new window.
