With President Trump's re-election, the approach to artificial intelligence regulation in the United States is poised for a dramatic shift away from the more proactive, government-led model that was anticipated under a Harris presidency. Instead, companies can expect a regulatory environment more in line with Trump's pro-business, light-touch philosophy.
Key Expected Changes:
- Rollback of Biden-era executive orders and agency rules aimed at establishing binding AI standards, bias testing requirements and transparency mandates. This includes the revocation of President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.
- A likely focus on specific AI issues that are personally important to President Trump, who described deep fake AI technology as “so scary.”
- Renewed emphasis on voluntary industry self-governance over prescriptive federal mandates. The Trump administration may rely on frameworks like the NIST rather than imposing binding compliance obligations.
- Greater deference to existing legal frameworks like antitrust, consumer protection and civil rights laws rather than new AI-specific legislation.
- Relaxed scrutiny of algorithmic bias and discriminatory AI applications, with the focus shifting away from proactive auditing and towards case-by-case enforcement actions. Companies can expect less stringent requirements for demonstrating the fairness and non-discrimination of their AI systems.
We can also look to President Trump’s December 3, 2020, Executive Order on Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government for guidance. Therein, he promoted the use of AI by federal agencies and stressed the following principles for the use of AI by the government: (a) lawful and respectful of our nation’s values; (b) purposeful and performance-driven; (c) accurate, reliable, and effective; (d) safe, secure, and resilient; (e) understandable; (f) responsible and traceable; (g) regularly monitored; (h) transparent; and (i) accountable.
The influence of Elon Musk, a vocal Trump ally who has acted as an informal advisor on technology policy, is likely to loom large over this shift. In the past, Musk expressed a desire for a “regulatory body established for overseeing AI to make sure that it does not present a danger to the public.” Interestingly, Musk backed controversial California bill SB 1047, which was eventually vetoed by Governor Newsom. This bill would have put into place safety regulations for large AI models.
Going forward, companies will likely have more flexibility to deploy AI systems with less government oversight. While this is a positive for AI innovation, companies should remain vigilant given the risks inherent in using AI systems and ensure safeguards are in place to avoid the potential harm that could be caused by overreliance on AI.
