US President Donald Trump revokes Joe Biden's AI safety executive order

In a significant policy reversal, US President Donald Trump has rescinded a 2023 executive order introduced by Joe Biden that aimed to mitigate risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report by Reuters.

The executive order, issued by Biden, mandated that developers of AI systems posing threats to national security, the economy, public health, or safety submit the results of safety tests to the U.S. government before public release. This directive was implemented under the Defence Production Act. It also required federal agencies to establish standards for testing and address risks linked to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity threats.

As noted by Reuters, Biden’s order emerged in the absence of legislative measures from U.S. lawmakers to regulate AI development effectively.

The 2024 Republican Party platform criticised the order, stating it hindered innovation in AI. The platform emphasised a commitment to supporting AI development underpinned by free speech and human flourishing. "Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing," they said.

Generative AI, which creates text, images, and videos based on open-ended prompts, has fuelled both excitement for its potential and concerns over its capacity to render jobs obsolete and create unforeseen challenges.

The Reuters report highlighted that the U.S. Commerce Department recently introduced tighter export restrictions on AI-related chips and technologies, drawing criticism from industry leaders, including NVIDIA.

In a separate move, Biden issued an additional executive order last week aimed at supporting the energy demands of advanced AI data centres. This directive called for leasing federal sites under the Department of Defence and Department of Energy for the purpose. Trump, however, has not repealed this particular order.