President-elect Trump’s return to the White House has those in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector bracing for possible reductions in federal regulation and funding.

From the launch of ChatGPT to the increased use of deepfakes, AI has grown rapidly over the past four years, and Trump returns to the Oval Office to a very different technology landscape.

While offering few details on his AI plans, the president-elect’s alliance with tech billionaire Elon Musk and his promise to repeal President Biden’s executive order on AI could mean innovation and Private sector-led competition will take precedence over regulation, industry experts said.

“I think the obvious impact is at least less regulation,” said Jason Corso, an AI researcher and co-founder and CEO of computer vision startup Voxel51.

This could have a ripple effect on the AI ​​industry in the future, he added.

“I don’t think immediate deregulation would have an immediate impact because we’re just learning what to do. I think what would be impacted is long-term health and understanding or progress toward a safer world through safe AI,” Corso said.

Deregulation was a key objective of Trump’s first termand he indicated that he plans to continue this approach during his second term.

Trump and Musk, who has become one of the president-elect’s most vocal supporters, have repeatedly floated the idea of ​​a government efficiency commission focused on eliminating unnecessary government spending and regulations.

It’s still unclear whether the idea will come to fruition or whether Musk will lead it.

Reduced regulation could come with a significant reduction in funding for AI research, a concern for some in the field.

“Historically, we rely on government spending to do the type of research or understanding that businesses won’t do because it’s not directly involved in the bottom line,” Corso said.

AI research was a central part of the Biden administration’s technology policy, as evidenced by the creation of the American AI Security Institute at the Department of Commerce.

The institute was created following Biden’s executive order on AI, published last year to exploit the benefits of technology and manage its risks.

Trump plans to repeal the order, according to the Republican Party’s policy platform released last July.

“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous executive order that hinders AI innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology,” the platform states. “Instead, Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing. »

Trump spokespeople did not respond to The Hill’s request for details.

Biden’s order set new security standards for the federal government and companies with the most powerful AI systems, among other guidelines. It was followed last month by a national security memorandumencouraging government agencies to use AI for national security and foreign competition.

The new administration “will identify elements and elements that it may want to keep or adapt as it works on its own version of the order,” a former Trump official told The Hill. the White House.

“I would certainly expect that a number of provisions associated with that order would be repealed and then continue to set the tone from a policy standpoint as to what they would like to see next,” the official added. .

Some within the industry said Biden’s measures were not enough to keep up with the rapid development of technology and did not scratch the surface on regulation.

“There is almost nothing to repeal, it was a declaration of intent. … There has been no action and so I don’t think it’s important to repeal what’s in place. It’s important that you develop sensible regulations now,” said Matt Calkins, CEO of Appian, which offers software used by government and other businesses.

Calkins believes Trump’s growing partnership with Musk, owner of social platform

“Trump may not have cared about it on his own, but Musk cared about it, and Musk has views that we already know when it comes to AI,” Calkins said, noting Musk’s support of a since-passed California AI measure that would have established security measures for powerful AI companies.

“He supported it because he is very careful about the destructive power of AI,” Calkins added.

AI advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation circulated a petition On Monday, he called on Trump to make Musk a special adviser on AI, arguing that he is well-positioned to ensure the United States continues to lead in AI.

Musk helped found OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT tool, which brought AI to the public and started a race among companies to develop and release their own models. He also owns an AI company, xAI.

He is one of the various wealthy leaders of Silicon Valley who flocked to the right, breaking with the industry’s long-standing support for Democrats. The leaders are joined by a growing group of cryptocurrency investors who have shifted their support due to frustrations with the Biden administration’s hardline approach to digital currencies.

Trump is likely to attract other industry players into his fold. Politico reported last week, Michael Kratsios, his former chief technology officer, and Gal Slater, economic policy adviser to Vice President-elect Vance, were named to manage technology policy during the transition. Kratsios was most recently CEO of AI startup Scale AI.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to look to Elon or any other tech industry leader… for him to recruit them to provide more of an advisory role as he continues to develop his agenda,” he said. former White House official.

Optimism about Trump’s interest in AI is reinforced by his desire to maintain an advantage over foreign competitors, notably China.

“There are strong indications that the national security aspects of AI will be an important priority in the Trump administration,” said John Verdi, senior vice president of policy at the nonprofit Future of Privacy Forum and former Obama administration official.

This direction could be seen as a continuation of the policies of the Biden administration, which, similarly, sought to slow down technological developments by China.

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