On the second day of his presidency, flanked by the CEO’s of OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle, President Trump announced a joint private sector venture to invest $500 billion in in AI infrastructure, known as Stargate. It was a clear statement that the administration intends to go all in on AI as an economic driver, and to outpace China in development and application of the technology.
The next day, Trump signed entitled an Executive Order entitled “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” which stated that it is the policy of the United States “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.” The Order also directs the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST), the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) to develop an AI Action Plan, for which an accompanying Request for Information was published in the Federal Register earlier today.
The January 23rd Executive Order, in conjunction with another order from January 20th, rescinds a 2023 Biden EO laying out the comprehensive framework his administration’s actions on AI, including guiding principles and priorities for agencies to implement safety and security measures, ethical innovation, workforce development, equity and civil rights, consumer protections, federal risk management, international collaboration, and more.
Comparatively, the Trump EO says very little on the new administration’s plans for AI beyond establishing dominance in the sector; the initial implication being that the administration intends to crowdsource priorities and policies through the Request for Information. However, it’s safe to assume that many of the Biden priorities, especially those related to consumer protection, data privacy, civil rights/equity, and international collaboration will be omitted, even if raised by stakeholders in their RFI comments.
The high-profile Stargate announcement and Executive Orders were quietly accompanied by an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo to all acting heads of departments and agencies stating the intention to redesignate all Senior Executive Service (SES) Chief Information Officers (CIOs) – who wield immense power with respect to the technological direction and capabilities of agencies – from being “career” federal employees to “general” – aka political appointments. The second sentence of the memo reads: “No longer the station of impartial and apolitical technocrats, the modern agency CIO role demands policy-making and policy-determining capabilities across a range of controversial political topics.” This would be a monumental shift for the role and scope of what have up to this point been nonpartisan, technical employees.
Separate from the tech conversations, the administration has made clear that expanding domestic energy production is a top priority – if not the top priority. But even in the context of energy, AI is already conspicuously in the conversation. Administration officials and Members of Congress have publicly used the energy needs for large-scale AI deployment as another justification for growing energy production.
It's too early to tell the scale at which Trump’s second administration will attempt to implement AI into federal delivery of government services. But the administration’s actions in the first 3 weeks of Trump’s second term, and controversial partnership with Elon Musk and DOGE, make clear that rapid and dramatic change is coming. AI experts and stakeholders would do well to make their priorities heard as soon as possible.
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