Trump's AI strategy dismantles existing restrictions and grants tech giants their desired ambitions

Trump's AI strategy dismantles existing restrictions and grants tech giants their desired ambitions

In a significant move, the White House has unveiled the U.S. AI Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy aimed at accelerating innovation, infrastructure development, and international leadership in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). On the other hand, the European Union has taken a different approach, focusing on establishing regulatory guardrails for AI applications to ensure ethical use and public safety.

The U.S. plan emphasizes domestic deregulation, with a focus on removing regulatory barriers and boosting AI infrastructure such as data centers and factories. It also aims to export the full American AI technology stack—hardware, software, and standards—to allied countries, while imposing strict export controls on AI compute resources to prevent adversaries, notably China, from accessing advanced AI capabilities. The plan promotes a proactive role in international AI diplomacy by creating alliances based on American AI leadership and safeguarding national security risks associated with frontier AI models.

In contrast, the European Union’s approach centers on establishing preemptive regulatory guardrails for AI applications through the AI Act. The EU prioritizes oversight, transparency, and safety to protect citizens and fundamental rights before broad deployment of AI systems. Unlike the U.S. plan’s emphasis on deregulation and competitive export strategies, the EU focuses on comprehensive regulation to ensure ethical AI use and mitigate risks, reflecting a more precautionary and rights-based stance toward governing AI.

The U.S. plan aims to win the AI race through innovation acceleration, minimal domestic regulation, and international tech export and alliances. On the other hand, the EU aims to lead through comprehensive AI regulatory frameworks that prioritize ethical oversight and public safety.

Key aspects of the U.S. AI Action Plan include:

• Datacenter operators can expect more leeway in construction, with permits loosening restrictions when building around wetlands and other protected waters.
• The plan advocates for a widespread grid modernization program to ensure adequate electricity supply for datacenters.
• The plan includes a training program to develop more skilled workers in supporting roles such as electricians and HVAC specialists.
• The plan governs international AI cooperation through quiet agreements between small numbers of allies, and backs away from broader multilateral treaties.
• The plan calls to remove references to critical race theory from AI procurement.
• The plan focuses mainly on cybersecurity risks, calling for the creation of an AI-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) and a standard on information assurance led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
• The plan's conception of risk is more singular, revolving mainly around bad actors co-opting AI and the need for secure DoD AI datacenters.
• The plan mandates removing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and climate change references from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) AI Risk Management Framework.
• The plan promotes the export of American AI models and expects allies to follow export controls.
• The plan recommends the development of a NIST-controlled "Guardians of Forensic Evidence" deepfake evaluation program and a deepfake standard for the Department of Justice.
• The plan envisions AI development as a race between those on America’s side and those who aren’t, and frames domestic and foreign policy in that context.
• The plan supports domestic semiconductor manufacturing to support the AI industry, but will strip away some of the CHIPS Act’s funding conditions.
• The plan calls on the Federal Communications Commission to examine whether state regulations interfere with its operations, and for the Federal Trade Commission to defang itself and sideline investigations that it sees as a burden to AI innovation.
• The plan extends to state-level AI rules, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will direct federal AI funding away from states with regulations that it considers too strict.
• The plan states that the government will only procure AI that pursues truth, fairness, and strict impartiality.
• The plan promises to clamp down on what it calls "ideological bias" in AI models.
• The government’s AI adoption push extends into the military, with the Department of Defense (DoD) getting a "virtual proving ground" for AI and autonomous systems.
• The plan specifically mandates looking for bias in Chinese models.
• The plan will standardize federal AI procurement using a "procurement toolbox" led by the General Services Administration (GSA).

The White House has announced this AI Action Plan as an effort to disengage the brakes from AI development and datacenter construction in the U.S. This move is expected to significantly influence the AI landscape, both domestically and internationally.

1. The U.S. AI Action Plan focuses on loosening regulations for datacenter operators, allowing for more leeway in construction, particularly around protected waters.
2. The plan promotes a widespread grid modernization program to ensure sufficient electricity supply for datacenters, reflecting the importance of technology in the strategy.
3. The U.S. plan calls for the creation of an AI-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) to focus on cybersecurity risks in AI, demonstrating the intersection of AI, technology, and security.
4. The White House's AI Action Plan involves international cooperation, but it favors quiet agreements between a few allies over broader multilateral treaties.
5. The plan advocates for the export of American AI models and expects allies to adhere to export controls, showcasing the interplay of politics, technology, and international relations in the AI landscape.

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