July 23, 2025
5 min read
Queenie Wong
Trump administration unveils an AI plan focused on cutting federal regulations to boost innovation and maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.
The Trump administration on Wednesday laid out a plan aimed at making it easier for companies to quickly develop and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The initiative highlights how Silicon Valley tech executives who supported Trump during the election are influencing federal policy that will impact their businesses as they compete globally to dominate the AI race.
“Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to transform the global economy and alter the balance of power in the world,” said David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto advisor. “To remain the leading economic and military power, the United States must win the AI race.”
Sacks is a co-founder and partner at Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm in San Francisco.
Tech companies have strengthened ties with the Trump administration by donating money, attending high-profile events such as his inauguration, and showcasing their U.S. investments.
Shortly after Trump took office, OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank announced plans to invest a combined $500 billion in AI infrastructure over the next four years. Billionaire Elon Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX, donated more than $280 million to the 2024 election and was tasked with slashing government spending. Apple, which has faced criticism from Trump for overseas manufacturing, pledged a $500 billion investment in the United States.
The AI plan underscores a shift from former President Biden’s approach, who emphasized both AI’s benefits and potential risks such as disinformation and job displacement. Trump revoked Biden’s executive order that placed guardrails around AI development earlier this year.
“It’s a more pro-growth approach to AI, and I personally believe that that’s the right way to go, as contrasted with the more fear-based approach that we saw in the prior administration,” said John Villasenor, professor and co-director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy.
Tech companies began investing in AI well before OpenAI’s ChatGPT popularized the technology. The emergence of more rivals has sparked fierce competition to release new AI tools that could reshape industries from healthcare to education.
The rapid pace of AI development has raised concerns about whether government regulation is keeping up to safeguard the public from potential dangers. Fact-checkers have noted that AI chatbots can produce incorrect information, and parents worry about the mental health impact of chatbots used by children.
Regulation struggles to keep pace with technology’s speed, while also balancing concerns that excessive rules could hinder innovation. Major tech giants like Google and Meta compete with OpenAI and international rivals such as Chinese AI company DeepSeek.
The plan calls for removing “bureaucratic red tape” and “onerous federal regulation” that could slow AI development. It also proposes revamping permits for data centers, which house the computing infrastructure needed to power AI systems. Environmentalists have expressed concern over the water and electricity consumption of these data centers.
Ahead of the plan’s release, over 80 civil rights, labor, and environmental groups signed a “people’s AI action plan,” warning against allowing Big Tech and Big Oil lobbyists to dictate AI rules at the expense of freedom, equality, workers’ well-being, and the environment.
The White House plan also addresses fears that AI could replace human jobs. It highlights that building AI infrastructure will create high-paying jobs and states, “AI will improve the lives of Americans by complementing their work — not replacing it.”
The plan recommends that the National Institute of Standards and Technology remove references to “misinformation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and climate change” from its AI risk management framework.
It also signals that the federal government may withhold funding from states with “burdensome AI regulations,” a move criticized by some child safety groups. California lawmakers are working on legislation to make AI chatbots safer, though the plan does not clarify what constitutes “burdensome.”
“How much teeth that might have will depend on to what extent that’s translated into sort of concrete policy about how you evaluate what burdensome is,” Villasenor said.
National security is another focus, with the plan advocating exporting the full AI technology stack — hardware and software — to allies while denying advanced AI to adversaries.
Some tech executives quickly praised the plan. Box CEO Aaron Levie called it “quite strong,” noting its clear mission to win the AI race by removing roadblocks and focusing on AI’s positive benefits.
Fred Humphries, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of U.S. Government Affairs, said the plan will accelerate infrastructure readiness and help Americans gain skills needed for an AI-powered global economy.
Originally published at Los Angeles Times on July 23, 2025.
Originally published at Los Angeles Times on July 23, 2025.