US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he plans to sign an executive order that prevents state-level artificial intelligence regulations with his most wobbly federal policy. CNN writes
"There should only be one Rule Book if we are going to continue to lead in AI," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, the Telegraph reports.
"We are beating all the countries at this point in the race, but that won't last long if we have 50 countries, many of them bad actors, involved in the rules and the approval process," he added.
The post confirms fears that academics, security groups and state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed since a draft version of the executive order circulated last month.
Critics worry that the push for deregulation could allow AI companies to avoid accountability if their tools harm consumers.
The fast-moving category of AI is already subject to little oversight as it extends into more areas of life — from communications and personal relationships to healthcare and policing.
In the absence of broad federal legislation, several states have passed laws to address potentially dangerous and harmful uses of AI, such as the creation of deceptive deepfakes and algorithmic discrimination in employment.
But leaders in Silicon Valley, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have argued that navigating a patchwork of state regulations could slow innovation and affect America's competitiveness in the global AI race, which they say will have implications for the economy and national security.
The draft order closely mirrored that technological argument, stating that it was designed to "enhance America's global AI dominance through a uniform and minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI."
He directed the U.S. attorney general to create an AI Task Force to challenge state AI laws and align them with Trump's more lenient federal policy, according to a copy seen by CNN.
In his Monday Truth Social post, Trump echoed this sentiment, saying, "You can't expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something," and adding that under such a model, "AI will be destroyed in its own end."
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that Trump had reviewed "something close to a final draft" of the order over the weekend.
"There are some states that want to regulate these companies within an inch of their lives, and when they make a mistake, they fine them heavily. This executive order that he has promised to issue will make it clear that there is a set of rules for AI companies in the US," Hassett said. /Telegraph/
