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Now the 47th President of the United States following his victory against Kamala Harris, Donald Trump plans to bring radical reforms for the country. He notably promised during his presidential campaign to abolish the regulations on AI put in place by Joe Biden, which, according to him, constitute a brake on innovation and impose radical left-wing ideas. Observers fear, in response, the spread of biased (or even harmful) AI tools that are highly error-prone.
Established in October 2023, Biden’s executive order on AI regulation builds on a national defense law dating to 1950, allowing the government to control private sector activities to ensure a reliable supply of goods and services. It covers almost every aspect of the technology’s applications, such as establishing safeguards for its use in healthcare and drug discovery.
The executive order has faced fervent criticism from Republicans because of two main provisions regarding safety and reliability. The first requires AI development companies to provide government reporting on how their models are trained and protected. This urges companies to be transparent and share the results of “red team” tests, which simulate cyberattacks to assess the limitations of the model and identify potential flaws in the system. The second aspect of the decree requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the Department of Commerce to produce guidelines encouraging companies to develop models less vulnerable to hacking and to limit bias.
In the months since the executive order’s adoption, the government has required quarterly reporting for AI development companies, while NIST has issued guidance documents regarding risk management, AI development secure tools, prevention of bias in models, etc. These efforts came amid growing concern among some of the industry’s biggest names about corporate negligence when it comes to security.
However, Trump and his supporters say these provisions are unnecessary and inappropriate and a hindrance to technological innovation. They further claim that this is a radical left-wing policy promoting “wokism”. Now elected for a second term, it would be enough for the former businessman to adopt a counter-decree to cancel all the efforts of the previous government.
« We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous executive order that hinders AI innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology “, he declared in his electoral campaign program. “ Instead, Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing ».
A decree repealed in favor of innovation?
Trump supporters believe that the executive order imposed by Biden is too restrictive and constitutes excessive interference in the sector. Mandating data sharing would expose developers’ trade secrets and put intellectual property at risk. On the other hand, it could intimidate potential innovators. These requirements would only benefit large companies, while start-ups would struggle to develop in the face of too many regulatory constraints.
Many conservatives believe that these obstacles to innovation could have major repercussions on the country’s technological competitiveness against China, where the sector is experiencing exponential growth. They could also constitute an obstacle to the United States’ digital arms race.
Trump’s AI campaign promise is supported by many Republican members of the US Congress, as well as big names in the tech industry, such as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX (among others). The policy of relaxing AI regulations would provide a significant advantage to Musk, as his companies would be able to more easily compete against his competitors.
Now part of the incoming president’s inner circle, the billionaire has shown on several occasions that he does not hesitate to put obstacles in the way of his competitors to promote his own AI tools. For example, he criticized OpenAI’s large AI models, calling them “wokist”. He also filed a lawsuit against the startup for allegedly deviating from its original purpose as a nonprofit business.
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An “anti-wokism” policy?
Republicans also believe the NIST guidelines constitute a form of government censorship, calling them wokist security standards. They say it is a plan by the Biden administration to control conservative speech, which they say would be an impediment to free speech.
Reports have shown that some large AI models exhibit discrimination bias, for example in recruiting and healthcare. However, many conservatives categorically refute the idea that AI could enable social harm. However, they are concerned about overcontrol which could harm the effectiveness of the models. According to Jacob Helberg, a tech player close to Trump, “there is a direct inverse correlation between the degree of wokism of an AI and its usefulness.”
For their part, those responsible for the decree affirm that it is far from being restrictive compared to those currently in force in the European Union and China. They refute allegations that it could harm technological innovation and believe, on the contrary, that it could promote the growth of start-ups by encouraging them to develop reliable, efficient and less energy-intensive models. Most industries in the sector would also be in favor of the decree.
However, it is not yet clear how Trump plans to replace or reform the executive order. His electoral program does not mention details, apart from more flexible regulations. Nonetheless, cybersecurity experts say rescinding Biden’s executive order will seriously undermine the reliability and impartiality of the models.
