Updated July 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM PDT
President Donald Trump rolled out a wide-ranging action plan on Wednesday aimed at ensuring the United States dominates the global artificial intelligence industry, signing executive orders that would speed up permits for data centers, finance exports of technology, and end the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion measures through AI models used by the government.
"We're going to make this [AI] industry absolutely the top because right now it's a beautiful baby that's born. We have to grow that baby and let that baby thrive. We can't stop it. We can't stop it with politics. We can't stop it with foolish rules and even stupid rules," Trump said during a speech to industry luminaries at the Andrew M. Mellon Auditorium.
When he took office in January, Trump moved to roll back former President Joe Biden's AI strategy, which he said would limit growth in the sector.
"I'm here today to declare that America is going to win" the global AI race, Trump said. "We're gonna win it, because we will not allow any foreign nation to beat us."
In total, there will be more than 90 AI policy actions taken in the coming year, said Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy – though some of the details of those actions are still in development, and will rely on input from the AI industry and others.
Trump's plan aims to limit state AI laws
In his remarks, Trump took aim at state laws regulating AI. His plan could limit some funding from the federal government for states that pass AI laws deemed "burdensome" to developing the technology.
"We also have to have a single federal standard, not 50 different states regulating this industry of the future," Trump said. "We need one common-sense federal standard that supersedes all states, supersedes everybody, so you don't end up in litigation with 43 states at one time."
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had tried to champion an amendment in the recent megabill that would have put a moratorium on all state AI laws for ten years, but Republicans killed the measure before the final vote. Intervening in state laws was widely criticized by Republican governors.
The portion of Trump's plan targeting states is getting blowback from some in the industry, too. Anthropic, for example, released a lengthy post responding to Trump's AI plan.
"We share the Administration's concern about overly-prescriptive regulatory approaches creating an inconsistent and burdensome patchwork of laws," the company said, but added, "We continue to oppose proposals aimed at preventing states from enacting measures to protect their citizens from potential harms caused by powerful AI systems, if the federal government fails to act."
Trump was also critical of the limitations posed by copyright regulations on AI. The New York Times and other publishers sued OpenAI earlier this year for copyright infringement after its ChatGPT model reproduced articles verbatim.
Trump said AI models shouldn't plagiarize but also can't be expected to go through "the complexity of contract negotiations" for the materials they learn from.
The tech industry has embraced Trump's second term
Trump praised AI companies in his speech, calling out OpenAI, Google, Meta and Nvidia along with "countless startups" as proof that America is "impossible to beat."
The tech industry has embraced the second Trump presidency, as evidenced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ending third-party fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram and denouncing "censorship" on social media, and OpenAI's chief executive Sam Altman moving from Trump critic to supporter and holding joint press conferences with the president.
That support is paying off. While the Biden administration focused on the societal risks of AI, and launched initiatives to ensure automated systems were not used to violate civil rights, the Trump administration is emphasizing out-competing China on AI.
"Once and for all, we are getting rid of 'woke' – is that OK?" Trump said, to applause.
While AI firms large and small are applauding Trump's push to speed up AI development, critics say AI industry insiders should not be the ones coming up with government regulations, arguing such rules are likely to boost the sector and overlook safety issues.
For years, AI researchers have warned about the dangers of AI in amplifying falsehoods, and supercharging fraud — concerns left unaddressed in the White House plan on Wednesday.
"This is where there is a bright line between the two administrations," said Alondra Nelson, the former head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Biden White House, noting the previous efforts to address public concerns about AI.
"What's happening in the Trump administration is the kind of peeling away or casting away of the very things that you need to ensure the American public that uses of AI are safe, that they're not discriminatory, that they are encouraging companies — requiring companies, moreover — to put people's safety first," Nelson said.
The Trump White House will roll back some of the Biden administration's rules for subsidies for semiconductor plants related to DEI and climate requirements, officials said. It wants to streamline permits for data centers and semiconductor plants and the energy that powers them.
The White House also plans to provide financing from the Development Finance Corporation and Export-Import Bank to boost use of American-developed AI abroad, though details were not immediately provided.
NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn contributed to this report.
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