President Donald Trump has limited states’ role in regulating artificial intelligence in the name of winning the “AI race.”
Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for a national framework on artificial intelligence regulations going forward. The order seeks to “sustain and enhance the United States’ global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.”
“To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” the executive order reads. “But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative.”
In essence, the executive order seeks to diminish the ability of individual states to set their own regulations for the fast-evolving technology of artificial intelligence. Trump said he seeks to eschew a “patchwork” approach of having distinct regulatory practices across 50 states, seeking instead to unite under a single AI doctrine.
“The resulting framework must forbid State laws that conflict with the policy set forth in this order,” the executive order adds. “That framework should also ensure that children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected and communities are safeguarded. A carefully crafted national framework can ensure that the United States wins the AI race, as we must.”
The order further notes: “Until such a national standard exists, however, it is imperative that my Administration takes action to check the most onerous and excessive laws emerging from the States that threaten to stymie innovation.”
Within 30 days of the signing of this executive order, Attorney General Pam Bondi must establish an AI Litigation Task Force meant to evaluate state-level AI laws and challenge those discordant with the new national policy. Within 90 days, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick must publish an evaluation of said state laws, identifying those that conflict with the new policy.
Trump cited states’ ability to “embed ideological bias within models” as one of his primary concerns in the executive order, pointing to a Colorado law banning “algorithmic discrimination” (which Trump fears may lead to false results favoring protected groups). Trump also said that state-level laws can “impermissibly regulate beyond State borders, impinging on interstate commerce.”
This move comes amid frequent concerns that the innovation of AI outstrips its ability to be understood by or regulated for the general public. It also lands on the same day that Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a $1 billion investment in OpenAI and the licensing of Disney characters to Sora.
You can read the full executive order here.
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