Trump’s executive order repeals Biden’s AI plan

During the meeting following the inauguration ceremonies, President Trump brought out a desk where he signed several executive orders. First of the evening reached 78 of the Biden administration’s policies, incl guidelines for October 2023 about AI.

“The elimination of this system will be the first of many steps the United States Government will take to fix our institutions and our economy,” the statement said. There is no explanation for these options, just a long list with “the following has been removed” as the preface. Some were related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic while others related to migration, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Biden’s executive order outlined a plan to protect civilians and the government’s best practices in artificial intelligence. Specifically, the EO sought new safety and security standards including AI watermarking protocols as well as human rights and consumer protection. It also offered to reduce exposure to workers from businesses that use AI and to launch a new job site looking for “more AI talent.”

In a separate executive order on Monday, Trump also withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement again. He did this during his first term, but Biden restored US involvement after taking office.