Updated July 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM EDT
The Trump White House intends to get rid of regulations that artificial intelligence developers see as hindering innovation — including measures related to boosting diversity, equity and inclusion, and curbing climate change.
The push is part of a wide-ranging action plan aimed at ensuring the United States dominates the global AI industry. President Trump will speak about the plan later on Wednesday, and sign several executive orders related to AI.
"We believe we're in an AI race — it's a global competition now to lead in artificial intelligence, and we want the United States to win that race," said David Sacks, a former tech executive who is Trump's top adviser on AI and crypto.
In total, there will be more than 90 policy actions taken in the coming year, said Michael Kratsios, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — though details on many of those actions are still in development, and will rely on input from the AI industry and others.
Kratsios told reporters that federal procurement rules will be changed to allow only AI platforms deemed free from "ideological bias" such as DEI initiatives.
He said "red tape" and regulations are limiting AI development for financial services, agriculture, health and transportation. "We cannot afford to go down Europe's innovation-killing regulatory path," said Kratsios, a protégé of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
The tech industry has embraced Trump's second term
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.
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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