Highlights
- In January 2025, the new administration took several steps related to AI technologies and infrastructure
- Many previous executive orders were rescinded, but a prior executive order regarding using federal lands for data centers remains in place
- The U.S. has also announced major private investments into state-of-the-art AI data centers
Since the new administration took office, the U.S. has taken several steps to implement new strategies and priorities related to the development of, and investment in, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
On Jan. 20, 2025, Executive Order 14110 titled Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, was rescinded. It required companies developing AI to share information about their technologies with the federal government before their products could be made publicly available. All other previous executive orders pertaining to AI also were rescinded, except for an order related to using public lands for data centers.
On Jan. 21, 2025, several private companies announced from the White House a new private venture called the Stargate Project, which intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure, including AI-focused data centers, in the U.S.
On Jan. 23, 2025, Executive Order 14179, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. was implemented. This new order states that to maintain U.S. leadership in AI innovation, “we must develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas.” It also “revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation, clearing a path for the United States to act decisively to retain global leadership in artificial intelligence.”
The order further states that it is the “policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”
To accomplish those objectives, the order requires:
1) Within 180 days, the Assistant to the President for Science and technology (APST), the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), in in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director), and the heads of such executive departments and agencies (agencies) as the APST and APNSA deem relevant, shall develop and submit to the President an action plan to achieve the policy set forth in section 2 of this order.
2) The APST, the special advisor for AI and crypto, and the APNSA, in coordination with the heads of relevant agencies shall (1) identify policies, directives, regulations and orders taken pursuant to EO 14110 and (2) suspend, revise, or rescind such actions if they are inconsistent with the order’s objectives.
3) Within 60 days, the OMB shall revise its published guidance on AI to align with the order.
Takeaways
The U.S. is taking strides to maintain and extend its edge in AI innovations amid competition from others. The new executive order is one of the steps being taken, and the AI regulatory landscape is continuing to rapidly evolve, making it important to monitor the steps the U.S. and others take in connection with AI.