US President Donald Trump began his first full day in office on January 21 with several executive orders being signed, though most may actually end up in legal disputes. One of the major highlights is a 2023 AI safety-related executive order introduced by Joe Biden, which has now been revoked by the new president, Donald Trump. Not surprising at all though, because in 2024, during the election campaign, the Republican Party promised to reverse the executive order, claiming that the order restricts progress and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Notably, in October 2023, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order titled “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” This was the first of its kind in the United States concerning AI regulation. The order advocated for comprehensive guidelines for developing and applying artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the country.
The Biden-era order required developers to test their AI systems for safety and share the results with the U.S. government before releasing them. At that time, the Biden administration argued that this move was made to ensure that AI technologies did not pose risks to consumers, workers, or national security. The order applied to AI systems that could potentially harm national security, the economy, or public health. It also directed government agencies to focus on managing various risks that AI might cause, such as threats related to chemicals, biological materials, radiation, nuclear issues, and cybersecurity.
The US government can pass such orders under the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to regulate and oversee the production of goods and services during national emergencies.
However, while Biden passed the executive order to drive the secure and trustworthy development of AI, the new Trump-led administration labels it as a ‘dangerous’ act. Donald Trump and his party continuously claim that they favor AI development supported by free speech and human flourishing. Meanwhile, in a world where AI-generated content like text, images, and videos is also raising serious concerns and impacts in many ways, the revoking of the previous order has once again created a void in the US in terms of AI regulation.
This development comes at a time when, just a few days ago, the U.S. Commerce Department imposed new restrictions on AI chips (particularly GPUs) exports, which faced criticism from industry leaders, including Nvidia. Not only that but just before the end of his tenure, Biden issued another executive order to address the growing energy demands of advanced AI data centers, allowing the leasing of federal sites managed by the Defense and Energy departments. Now, it will be interesting to see whether the new president will also repeal these orders as well. Meanwhile, as AI takes center stage these days, the Artificial Intelligence market in the United States is projected to reach $66.21 billion by 2025.
