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Donald Trump has signed an executive order that threatens to withhold federal funds from states that pass “onerous” laws to regulate AI tools, in a win for tech groups that have lobbied for a single federal rule book.
The president told reporters American artificial intelligence companies would “not be successful unless they have one source of approval or disapproval”.
“China has a central source of approval,” Trump added as he signed the order on Thursday.
The move by Trump comes after his administration twice failed to get a measure through Congress that would restrict states from writing their own AI rules, after a backlash from some in his Maga coalition.
Republican governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas joined leaders of Democratic states in opposing the measure, which was backed by the AI industry and Silicon Valley investors.
Trump’s order directs the administration to assess the “patchwork” of state laws governing AI and to decide whether to punish states with “onerous AI laws” by withholding money from a $42bn programme designed to subsidise the rollout of high-speed broadband.
Several states and consumer groups have suggested that they would bring court challenges to the order, which they believe to be unlawful.
Trump’s AI tsar David Sacks, who flanked the president at the order’s signing, said the administration would now work with Congress to define a federal framework for AI regulation and that the order would only be used to “push back on the most onerous and excessive state regulations”.
“For example, kid safety, we’re going to protect. We’re not pushing back on that,” said Sacks, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is close to many of the leaders of American AI companies.
Sacks was joined at the signing by investor Chamath Palihapitiya, with whom Sacks co-hosts a popular tech-focused podcast.
In the run-up to the signing, tech lobbyists, including a group founded by an OpenAI co-founder and venture capital behemoth Andreessen Horowitz, spent millions of dollars pushing for federal control of AI regulation.
Their effort prompted opposition from Trump allies, including Senator Josh Hawley and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
It has also been criticised by non-profits concerned about the unregulated spread of AI. Michael Kleinman, head of US policy at the Future of Life Institute, said the move was “a gift for Silicon Valley oligarchs who are using their influence in Washington to shield themselves and their companies from accountability”.
Additional reporting by Cristina Criddle in San Francisco
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