new york
CNN
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The Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan on Wednesday. It unveiled a package of initiatives and policy recommendations aimed at strengthening the United States as a global leader in technology, which is expected to be as influential as the Internet itself.
The White House is seeking to achieve its noble, Silicon Valley-friendly goal by expanding AI regulations with notable magazine-friendly exceptions that work to eliminate AI's political “bias.”
The plan includes three pillars that will accelerate innovation, build US AI infrastructure, and make American hardware and software a “standard” platform for AI innovation built around the world.
Additionally, a 28-page plan published by the White House recommends that large-scale federally sourced language models are “objective and without top-down ideological bias.”
This is the latest push for the Trump administration to expand AI infrastructure and investment in the US, and serves as another indication that staying China first with AI is the administration's number one priority.
“Leading artificial intelligence is now a global competition,” White House's I-Zar David said during a conference call with a reporter Wednesday morning. “And we want the United States to beat its race. AI is an innovative technology that has a profound impact on both the economy and national security. Therefore, it is very important that America remains the dominant force of AI.”
The announcement came before Trump was expected to outline his AI plans at an event in Washington on Wednesday evening. It was called a victory in the AI race. The event will be hosted by the All-In-Podcast, a show on business and politics co-hosted by Sack among figures in other industry, and the Hill & Valley Forum, a group that hosts technology and policy meetings, previously founded by Jacob Helberg, the Commissioner of the US Economic and Security Review.
The plan removes what the Trump administration described as “bureaucratic red tape” into AI development, and White House officials said it was based on recommendations from the private sector and academia and civil society groups. It also needs to streamline permits for data centers, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and energy infrastructure. The government will also partner with US tech companies to create a “full stack AI export package” that will allow AI models, hardware, software and more to be used by American allies. It is the efforts that Silicon Valley leaders have sought to ensure that the US remains an AI leader to make our technology a global standard.
Michael Krustios, director of the White House Science and Technology Office, said in a conference call. All policies outlined in the Action Plan can be implemented in the next six months to one year.
Lawmakers and technology leaders are split on how AI is regulated, highlighting the struggle to balance safety and speed. Soon after taking office, Trump abolished a drastic executive order passed by former President Joe Biden, which sought to implement several safeguards regarding the development and use of AI.
recently, The U.S. Senate voted on July 1 to remove provisions that wiped out Republican domestic policy laws, for example, that prevented states from enforcing AI-related laws for 10 years. Technology leaders argue that state-level rules or regulations patchwork can slow innovation and deployment. However, those who opposed the regulations were concerned that it would hinder efforts to keep AI safe and hold tech companies accountable. However, the AI Action Plan recommends that the federal government “consider the state's AI regulatory environment” when considering ways to distribute federal funds for AI-related programs.
Faced with concerns about AI taking on jobs and hurting children, some criticised the Trump administration's agenda to prioritize the tech industry's interests for AI safety. A coalition of privacy advocates, labor unions and other organisations are calling for a plan of action for people to counter the Trump administration's proposals. Its signatories include the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the American East Writers Guild, and the Institute's AI Now Institute.
A White House official said there have been over 10,000 responses from “diverse” individuals and sectors Information was submitted to the White House request to inform the plan.
The plan recommends updating federal procurement guidelines, so the government will only contract with large language model developers that “ensure that the system is objective and there are no top-down ideological biases.” However, experts say that enforcement of such rules can be difficult, as it is unclear what the definition of “bias” is. It could also slow innovation, as tech companies seeking to secure government contracts are likely to have new guidelines to adhere to.
“We're looking forward to seeing you get a lot of money,” said Oren Ezzioni, former CEO of Allen Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a Seattle-based non-profit laboratory.
Wednesday's plans follow a series of AI and technology-related investments and announcements from private companies that have been made throughout Trump's second term so far. On July 15, the president announced more than $90 billion in investments from high-tech, energy and financial companies to transform Pennsylvania into an artificial intelligence hub.
He began his second term in a $500 billion AI infrastructure project called Stargate. This includes collaborations with Openai CEO Sam Altman, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison.
He also said he would roll back the Biden-era AI export restrictions on AI chips, and Nvidia was recently allowed to resume selling H20 AI chips to China.
More broadly, Trump has pressured the tech giants to expand their operations in the United States to revive American manufacturing, create jobs and reduce trust in China in high-tech production, but experts are skeptical of the success of such efforts. He touts investments from companies like Apple and TSMC as political victory, but regardless of Trump's push, it's possible that at least some of those plans were in place.
The collaboration between the tech industry and the White House is nothing new. It happened under and long ago under the Biden administration. However, high-tech CEOs have been prominently present in Trump's first six months. The tech giant and the White House have come together through shared goals ahead of China's AI ambitions. Chinese startup Deepseek rattled the market and Silicon Valley with its powerful yet inexpensive R1 model earlier this year, sparking concerns that China could be ahead of its expectations.
The challenge of maintaining the edge with AI while prioritizing safety has emerged previously at Capitol Hill. Technical leaders from Microsoft, Openai, CoreWeave and AMD addressed the issue during a Senate committee hearing in May.
“The number one factor that defines whether the US wins this race is to define whether the technology is most widely adopted in other parts of the world,” Microsoft vice-chairman and President Brad Smith said at the hearing.
