Report from Washington Post
In Brief – After failed attempts to attach a federal moratorium on state AI regulation to “must pass” legislation, President Trump has issued an executive order that calls on government agencies to “check the most onerous and excessive” state laws in favor of a “minimally burdensome, uniform national policy framework.” The White House sided with industry backers against a handful of Republican Governors who argue that states should be able to regulate the technology to protect their citizens and populist conservative activists, including some in Congress, who stymied legislative efforts by aligning with Democrats who appear united against a federal moratorium. The order directs the US Attorney General to create an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws that may unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce. The Commerce Secretary is instructed to identify conflicting state measures and condition state receipt of federal broadband deployment funds on their compliance with the AI order’s goals. Opposition to so-called “woke AI” is reiterated by the order and the Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to federal agencies requiring that any AI services they use be certified as “unbiased”.
Context – The second Trump Administration, with a far bigger cohort of tech backers than the first, has pushed US AI policy firmly in the direction of deregulation and investment and pitched AI development as a national imperative to compete with China on economic, strategic and national security grounds. The UK and Japan have also moved in the direction of AI support and deregulation, while the EU, home of the AI Act regulatory regime, appears increasingly desperate to promote a local AI industry to join the competition, including slightly dialing back some regulation. But a number of US states are drifting in the other direction leading to industry pushback, especially focused on California. However, with razor thin margins between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and some very committed Republican opponents, the AI industry will need a large handful of Democratic backers in the House and Senate or there is almost no hope that Congress can act.