President Donald Trump signed an executive order Dec. 11 to block states from creating AI regulations outside of the existing federal frameworks to spur growth and adoption across industries.
In the executive order, President Trump said his administration’s efforts to promote AI growth have “delivered tremendous benefits to the American people” and led to trillions of dollars in investments, but that hasn’t been enough.
“We remain in the earliest days of this technological revolution and are in a race with adversaries for supremacy within it,” he stated in the order. “To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation. But excessive state regulation thwarts this imperative.”
President Trump argued that allowing states to create AI regulations would create a “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes” that makes it challenging for companies and startups to meet compliance standards. The order also specifically calls out Colorado’s law banning algorithmic discrimination, noting it could lead to false results because the AI models try to avoid different impacts on protected groups.
Three things to know:
1. The executive order directs the attorney general to create an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws outside of the federal policies within the next 30 days.
2. The secretary of commerce, along with other federal groups, will develop an evaluation of existing state AI laws and identify laws conflicting with federal policy within the next 90 days. The evaluation will target laws requiring AI models to “alter their truthful outputs” and requiring developers to disclose information violating the First Amendment.
3. After the report is released, the executive order directs federal agencies to develop a policy for states to remain eligible for funding from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, and exclude states with “onerous AI laws” from future funds. Other executive departments and agencies were also directed to ensure funding only goes to states complying with the executive order.
