Shortly after taking office, US President Donald Trump removed several executive orders that former US President Joe Biden had signed in 2023 to reduce the risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for consumers, workers, and the national security of the country.
Biden’s executive order required developers of AI systems that could reduce the risks to US national security, the economy, public health, or safety to share the results of safety tests with the US government under the Defense Production Act before these systems could be released to the public.
According to Reuters, the order also ordered that government agencies should establish standards for these safety tests and address related risks, including those related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity threats.
Biden’s initiative came amid a lack of legislative action from U.S. lawmakers to set clear regulations for AI development. The rise of generative AI, capable of creating text, images, and videos in response to open-ended prompts, has generated significant excitement.
However, there are concerns that it could make certain jobs obsolete or lead to other negative consequences.
The 2024 Republican Party platform promised to repeal Biden’s executive order, claiming that it hinders AI innovation. The platform highlighted that “Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing.”
Additionally, last week the US Commerce Department announced new restrictions on AI chip and technology exports, which faced criticism from the industry, including major companies like Nvidia.
In the same time frame, Biden issued a separate executive order to provide federal support for the substantial energy needs of rapidly growing advanced AI data centres, which called for leasing federal sites owned by the Defense and Energy Departments. However, Donald Trump did not revoke that order.