In a move to boost American competitiveness, the Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) blueprint aimed at easing environmental regulations and reducing export risks for US tech firms.
President Donald Trump will mark the plan’s release with a speech outlining the importance of winning an AI race that is increasingly seen as a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics, with both China and the United States investing heavily in the industry to secure economic and military superiority.
The plan, which includes some 90 recommendations, calls for the export of US AI technology abroad and a crackdown on state laws deemed too restrictive to let it flourish, a marked departure from predecessor Joe Biden’s “high fence” approach that limited global access to coveted AI chips.
New Programme
The administration said it plans to partner with the AI industry to create export packages of chips and software for America’s friends and allies.
“We’re establishing a programme led by the departments of Commerce and State to partner with industry to deliver secure full-stack AI export packages, including hardware models, software applications and standards to America’s friends and allies around the world,” said Michael Kratsios, head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The AI plan, according to a senior administration official, does not address national security concerns around Nvidia’s H20 chip, which powers AI models and was designed to walk right up to the line of prior restrictions on Chinese AI chip access.
Trump blocked the export of the H20 to China in April but allowed the company to resume sales earlier this month, sparking rare public criticism from fellow Republicans.
New Exclusions
The plan also calls for fast tracking the construction of data centers by loosening environmental regulations and utilizing federal land to expedite development of the projects, including any power supplies.
The administration will seek to establish new exclusions for data centers under the National Environmental Policy Act and streamline permits under the Clean Water Act.
Trump will incorporate some of the plan’s recommendations into executive orders that will be signed ahead of his speech, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Trump directed his administration in January to develop the plan.
Top administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett are also expected to join the event titled “Winning the AI Race”, organised by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the “All-In” podcast, according to a schedule reviewed by Reuters.
The event will be hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, an informal supper club whose deep-pocketed members helped propel Trump’s campaign and sketched out a road map for his AI policy long before he was elected.
Trump is expected to take additional actions in the upcoming weeks that will help Big Tech secure the vast amounts of electricity it needs to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for the rapid expansion of AI, Reuters previously reported.
Surge In Demand
US power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in number and size across the country.
Trump wants to remove barriers to AI expansion, in stark contrast to Biden, who feared US adversaries like China could harness AI chips produced by companies like Nvidia and AMD to supercharge its military and harm allies.
Biden, who left office in January, imposed a raft of restrictions on US exports of AI chips to China and other countries that it feared could divert the semiconductors to America’s top global rival.
Trump rescinded Biden’s executive order aimed at promoting competition, protecting consumers and ensuring AI was not used for misinformation. He also rescinded Biden’s so-called AI diffusion rule, which capped the amount of American AI computing capacity some countries were allowed to obtain via US AI chip imports.
Trump announced deals in May with the United Arab Emirates that gave the Gulf country expanded access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the United States after previously facing restrictions over Washington’s concerns that China could access the technology.
(With inputs from Reuters)
