Trump Signs Executive Order to Block State-Level AI Regulations

"AI Chatbots Must Be Tested for 'Political Bias' Before Federal Sales"

On December 11 (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States signed an executive order to prevent individual state governments from creating separate regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) and to establish federal-level standards.

At the signing ceremony held at the White House, President Trump stated, "AI accounts for a large part of the economy, and there will be only one winner in this field. It will probably be either the United States or China, and currently we are far ahead."

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by UPI

He continued, "However, if we have to obtain 50 separate approvals from each of the 50 states, it becomes impossible," emphasizing, "If there is not a single source for approval or rejection, we cannot succeed."

Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, who attended the signing ceremony, said, "AI is a competition to win or lose against China," adding, "Even if we have the golden dome, if Chinese AI can bypass it, then all the money spent on national defense is meaningless."

President Trump commented on the executive order, "I believe it has strong support from the Republican Party. We may also gain support from the Democratic Party." He also announced that if state laws regulating AI are determined to undermine America's technological advantage, federal broadband funding to those states would be withheld.

This executive order was issued to prevent large states dominated by the Democratic Party, such as California and New York, from exercising control over the AI industry. As a result, backlash is expected, particularly from Democratic states. The New York Times (NYT) pointed out, "This executive order has triggered broad bipartisan opposition and could face legal challenges from state governments and consumer groups who argue that only Congress has the authority to invalidate state laws," according to legal experts.

According to Reuters, the Trump administration announced in a statement that day that it would require AI companies to measure the 'political bias' of AI chatbots before selling them to federal agencies. This requirement will apply to all large language models (LLMs) purchased by federal agencies, except for national security systems.

Previously, in July, President Trump had instructed federal agencies not to purchase LLMs he defined as 'woke' (politically aware). The statement released that day further specified that developers must not "intentionally code partisan or ideological judgment" into chatbot outputs, among other details.

Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony, President Trump was asked whether the increased military pressure on Venezuela, such as the seizure of oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, was due to drugs or oil. He replied, "There are several reasons," claiming that many criminals from Venezuela have entered the United States.

Regarding mediation for ending the Russia-Ukraine war, he confirmed that if a peace agreement is reached between the two countries, the United States would provide security support to Ukraine. President Trump also mentioned that there will be a meeting in Europe on December 13 involving both Europe and Ukraine, and stated, "If there is a high possibility that the U.S. peace proposal will be accepted, a U.S. representative will attend."