Trump rescinds Biden executive order on artificial intelligence

The EO set AI safety and security standards and called for a report on AI's impact on labor

Among the first actions taken by Donald Trump when he took office on Monday was to rescind nearly 80 executive orders (EOs) instituted by Joe Biden over the last four years.  That included the EO on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which he signed in 2023, fulfilling one of Trump's promises as president-elect.

The language of the order, which has been taken down from Whitehouse.gov but is still available on the Internet Archive, set new standards for AI safety and security. That included requiring that developers of the most powerful AI systems share their safety test results, and other "critical information," with the U.S. government.

It also called for the development of standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy, and the protection from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content.

The EO also established a cybersecurity program to develop AI tools to find and fix vulnerabilities in software and ordered the development of a National Security Memorandum that directs further actions on AI and security. And it called for a report on AI’s potential labor-market impacts, and study and identify options for strengthening federal support for workers facing labor disruptions, including from AI.

With the EO now rescinded, it is unclear what, if anything, the Trump administration will do to replace it.

During the campaign, Trump mentioned artificial intelligence a number of times, including on a podcast with Logan Paul, in which he described AI as a “superpower” that writes “beautifully.” At the same time, also called its capabilities “alarming," specifically mentioning deepfakes, which are videos or audio of a person, in which their face, voice, or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else.

Trump also noted that the US is in competition with China for supremacy with AI technology, and his belief that environmentalists’ concerns over energy use could cause America to lose ground.

He also appointed David Sacks as his so-called "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar" in the White House to coordinate federal policy and governmental use of the technology.

In addition to his EO on AI, Biden administration made regulation around artificial intelligence a priority, including guidelines to federal agencies buying AI, guidelines for agencies when it comes to buying AI, and a taskforce to combat deepfakes.

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