What Biden’s Order Accomplished – and Didn’t
In October 2023, former president Joe Biden signed an executive order that included several measures for regulating AI. On his first day in office, President Trump overturned it, replacing it a few days later with his own order on AI in the US.
What Happened Next
This week, some government agencies that enforce AI regulation were told to halt their work, while the director of the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) stepped down.
Biden’s Order: What it Accomplished and Didn’t
In addition to naming several initiatives around protecting civil rights, jobs, and privacy as AI accelerates, Biden’s order focused on responsible development and compliance. However, as ZDNET’s Tiernan Ray wrote at the time, the order could have been more specific, leaving loopholes available in much of the guidance. Though it required companies to report on any safety testing efforts, it didn’t make red-teaming itself a requirement, or clarify any standards for testing. Ray pointed out that because AI as a discipline is very broad, regulating it needs – but is also hampered by – specificity.
Brookings Report
A Brookings report noted in November that because federal agencies absorbed many of the directives in Biden’s order, they may protect them from Trump’s repeal. But that protection is looking less and less likely.
AISI and CFPB
Biden’s order established the US AI Safety Institute (AISI), which is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The AISI conducted AI model testing and worked with developers to improve safety measures, among other regulatory initiatives. In August, AISI signed agreements with Anthropic and OpenAI to collaborate on safety testing and research; in November, it established a testing and national security task force.
On Wednesday, likely due to Trump administration shifts, AISI director Elizabeth Kelly announced her departure from the institute via LinkedIn. The fate of both initiatives, and the institute itself, is now unclear.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also carried out many of the Biden order’s objectives. For example, a June 2023 CFPB study on chatbots in consumer finance noted that they "may provide incorrect information, fail to provide meaningful dispute resolution, and raise privacy and security risks." CFPB guidance states lenders have to provide reasons for denying someone credit regardless of whether or not their use of AI makes this difficult or opaque. In June 2024, CFPB approved a new rule to ensure algorithmic home appraisals are fair, accurate, and comply with nondiscrimination law.
Trump’s Order
On January 23rd, President Trump signed his own executive order on AI. In terms of policy, the single-line directive says only that the US must "sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security." Unlike Biden’s order, terms like "safety," "consumer," "data," and "privacy" don’t appear at all. There are no mentions of whether the Trump administration plans to prioritize safeguarding individual protections or address bias in the face of AI development. Instead, it focuses on removing what the White House called "unnecessarily burdensome requirements for companies developing and deploying AI," seemingly focusing on industry advancement.
Conclusion
The Trump administration’s disruption of AISI and CFPB without a formal policy in place to catch fallout leaves AI oversight and compliance in a murky state for at least the next six months. Considering global AI regulation is still far behind the rate of advancement, perhaps it was better to have something rather than nothing.
FAQs
Q: What was the purpose of Biden’s AI executive order?
A: The order aimed to regulate AI and ensure responsible development and compliance.
Q: What happened to the AISI and CFPB after Trump took office?
A: The AISI director stepped down, and the CFPB was told to halt its work.
Q: What is the Trump administration’s stance on AI regulation?
A: The administration’s executive order focuses on removing "unnecessarily burdensome requirements" for companies developing and deploying AI, rather than prioritizing individual protections or addressing bias.
Q: What is the current state of AI regulation?
A: AI oversight and compliance are in a murky state due to the disruption of AISI and CFPB without a formal policy in place to catch fallout.
