Donald Trump at The Believers Summit in Florida in July 2024. Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The move has prompted criticism from the Center for American Progress.
Newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump has repealed former US president Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order which aimed to create safeguards for artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The move is the latest in a series of tech-related developments concerning the returning president. Yesterday, Tik Tok credited Trump for facilitating its quick return in the US after it briefly shut down. Trump has also officially enacted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is co-led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
The repealed order, named Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, came at a time when society grappled (and it still grapples) with the ethical implications of AI.
While this form of technology holds potential to advance a vast range of human activity, from discovering new medicines for diseases to predicting weather disasters caused by the climate crisis, many critics have raised concerns about the potential dangers of leaving its development unchecked. Biden himself said at the time: “One thing is clear: to realise the promise of AI and avoid the risks, we need to govern this technology. There’s no other way around it, in my view. It must be governed.”
As a result, Biden’s order directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to look out for flaws in AI models, including biases. It also required developers of AI systems to share the results of safety tests with the US government before the tech was publicly released.
The Trump administration has now alleged that the Biden administration “embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government”. It also accused the previous administration of being overly focused on diversity, open borders and business regulations.
“To commence the policies that will make our nation united, fair, safe and prosperous again, it is the policy of the US to restore common sense to the Federal Government and unleash the potential of the American citizen.”
The Trump administration also said that the revocations in the order “will be the first of many steps the US Federal Government will take to repair our institutions and our economy”.
Trump accused of ‘creating chaos’
The latest executive order has not come without criticism. Alondra Nelson of the Center for American Progress criticised the repeal, accusing Trump of “[again] creating chaos for those developing and deploying the most impactful technologies of our time”.
“The Trump administration must not believe in true American innovation that can build and deploy technologies in a manner that is safe, secure and trustworthy for us all, with clear rules of the road.
“Was it too much to ask AI developers for transparency regarding the safety testing of their products?”
Nelson said that the repeal is “nothing short of payback to Silicon Valley billionaires”, an apparent reference to the number of tech giants who have donated to Trump’s inauguration fund in recent weeks.
“This will leave the American public unprotected from the risks and harms of AI and, therefore, unable to take up the benefits it might bring,” Nelson argued.
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Donald Trump at The Believers Summit in Florida in July 2024. Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
