Trump Plans to Ensure US Dominance in AI

The administration of US President Donald Trump unveiled its AI action plan. It is designed to solidify the US position as the global leader in the face of competition from other countries, mainly from China.

The 28-page plan contains a series of initiatives and policy recommendations that largely counter the AI efforts of former President Joe Biden. “The United States needs to innovate faster and more comprehensively than our competitors in the development and distribution of new AI technology across every field, and dismantle unnecessary regulatory barriers that hinder the private sector in doing so,” according to the Trump administration.

Biden actively pursued governmental policies around the use of AI and generative AI during his term as president, which included prohibiting the sale of powerful chips to countries such as China and implementing guidelines for how it is used. Some of the Biden-era AI executive orders were rescinded by Trump when he took office in January. With the action plan, Trump’s administration is eliminating federal red tape and regulations that they believe would spur AI innovation.

The plan, based on recommendations from the private sector, as well as civil society and academia groups, also includes streamlining permitting processes for data centres, semiconductor manufacturing, and energy infrastructure. “With the right government policies, the United States can solidify its position as the leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans,” the AI action document stated.

The plan is built on three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. It also seeks to make US hardware and software the global standard for AI. True to President Trump’s ideals, the plan seeks to eliminate measures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and climate change. It also updates federal procurement guidelines to ensure that the government only contracts with frontier large language model (LLM) developers who ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.