Trump administration proposes new AI regulation, warns states against interference
What's the story
The Trump administration has unveiled a new legislative blueprint for artificial intelligence (AI) regulation. The seven-point plan emphasizes that the federal government should avoid most AI regulations, except for those aimed at child safety. It also calls for states to not interfere with the "national strategy to achieve global AI dominance." The proposal is aimed at Congress and suggests measures to protect minors using AI services with more safeguards.
Cost control
Addressing potential electricity cost spikes due to AI infrastructure
The Trump administration's plan also seeks to curb potential spikes in electricity costs due to AI infrastructure. It calls for "youth development and skills training" to increase familiarity with AI tools, albeit without much detail. The proposal takes a wait-and-see approach on whether training AI models on copyrighted material without permission is legal, while continuing the Republican push against state-level regulation of their own AI laws.
Legal framework
Pro-age verification recommendations
The Trump administration's blueprint also advocates for laws similar to the Take It Down Act, which prohibits nonconsensual AI-generated "intimate visual depictions." The document is also pro-age verification, suggesting Congress should establish commercially reasonable, privacy protective age assurance requirements for AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors. It proposes other child protection measures like limiting AI models' ability to train on minors' data and targeted advertising based on their data.
Digital rights
Protecting individuals from unauthorized distribution of deepfakes
In the era of deepfakes, the new policy blueprint proposes consider establishing a federal framework protecting individuals from the unauthorized distribution or commercial use of AI-generated digital replicas of their voice, likeness or other identifiable attributes. However, it also says lawmakers should provide "clear exceptions" for parody, news reporting, satire and other First Amendment-protected use cases. The blueprint also discourages Congress from taking up AI copyright issues.
Security risks
Addressing AI-enabled impersonation scams and fraud
The blueprint also raises concerns about large-scale scams and fraud increasingly powered by AI. It says Congress should augment existing law enforcement efforts to combat AI-enabled impersonation scams and fraud that target vulnerable populations such as seniors. The Trump administration continues its pro-federal, anti-state approach to AI regulation with this document, which says Congress should "preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens" and avoid "50 discordant" standards for companies.
Innovation boost
Blueprint aims to accelerate AI development in the US
The overall goal of this blueprint is to speed up AI development. The document states, "The United States must lead the world in AI by removing barriers to innovation [and] accelerating deployment of AI applications across sectors," It also suggests Congress should find ways to make federal datasets available to AI companies and academics in "AI-ready formats for use in training AI models and systems."