Federal Government Outlines 90-Point Plan for Artificial Intelligence Advancement at the White House
The White House released a national strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) on July 23, 2020, marking a significant policy shift towards market-driven growth and deregulation. Known as "Winning the AI Race: America's AI Action Plan", the strategy outlines over 90 federal actions to strengthen America's position in AI development.
The plan prioritizes deregulation to spur AI innovation and adoption, accelerates the buildout of AI data centers and infrastructure, and targets global leadership via exporting U.S. AI technology stacks to allies and partners. David Sacks, White House special advisor for AI and crypto, framed the plan in strategic and geopolitical terms, stating that the U.S. must center its innovation domestically and "avoid Orwellian uses of AI" to win the AI race.
The strategy sets priorities across three core pillars: accelerating innovation, building domestic infrastructure, and leading on global AI diplomacy and security. Notably, parts of the strategy will be enacted via executive orders in the coming weeks, with national workforce initiatives targeting technical trades essential to AI infrastructure, such as electricians and HVAC technicians, also set to launch.
In a bid to secure the global proliferation of U.S.-made AI technologies and prevent the dominance of foreign alternatives, the Trump administration reached agreements with the United Arab Emirates to grant the country access to advanced AI chips. These agreements are part of a broader $200 billion cooperation deal.
The Biden-era Executive Order 14110, "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence," has been explicitly revoked by the new initiative. The Biden-era policy, which focused on whole-of-government coordination, safeguards against AI-enabled harms, and building government capacity to manage AI risks, has been replaced by the Trump administration's emphasis on deregulation and rapid infrastructure and export-driven growth.
An event to promote the initiative will be hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum on July 23, 2020. The strategy fulfills a mandate laid out in President Donald Trump's January 23 executive order. The plan aims to remove "onerous" federal restrictions and foster innovation free from "ideological bias." However, it lacks detailed implementation timelines and assigned agency responsibilities so far.
The strategy's focus on market-driven growth and minimal government intervention is a departure from previous federal policy. Domestically, the plan pledges to fast track the permitting process for building new data centers and semiconductor fabs. The goal, according to Trump administration officials, is to secure the global proliferation of U.S.-made AI technologies and prevent the dominance of foreign alternatives.
References: [1] White House. (2020, July 23). Fact Sheet: Winning the AI Race: America's AI Action Plan. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/artificial-intelligence/
[2] Kroll, J. (2020, July 23). Trump Administration Unveils AI Strategy to Boost U.S. Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-unveils-ai-strategy-to-boost-u-s-leadership-11595888600
[4] Schmidt, M. (2020, July 23). Trump administration unveils AI plan to boost US leadership. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/trump-ai-strategy-us-leadership-2b285196-2a7e-4833-8782-36554c05849c.html
- The strategy prioritizes the removal of onerous federal restrictions and fosters innovation free from ideological bias, with a focus on artificial-intelligence and technology.
- The plan aims to accelerate the buildout of AI data centers and infrastructure, and targets global leadership via exporting U.S. artificial-intelligence technology stacks to allies and partners.
