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AI industry's wish list for Trump
Mar 17, 2025
A variety of artificial intelligence (AI) firms and industry groups are hoping to shape the Trump administration’s forthcoming policy on the emerging technology and keep the U.S. a leader in the space.
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AI industry's wish list for Trump
A variety of artificial intelligence (AI) firms and industry groups are hoping to shape the Trump administration’s forthcoming policy on the emerging technology and keep the U.S. a leader in the space.
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While the recommendations come from a variety of industry players, the proposals largely overlap and offer a glimpse into how the industry envisions its future under President Trump.
The White House set a Saturday deadline for comments on its “AI Action Plan.” The feedback, which it states will influence its future policy, will likely be made public in the days following the deadline.
We broke down some of the main takeaways from the recommendations:
1. Need for a federal framework, but not overdoing regulation
Multiple companies and groups called for a clearer regulatory framework but strongly argued against any policies they believe will hamper AI innovation.
OpenAI, in its 15-page response to the White House, called for a regulatory strategy that also gives them the “freedom to innovate.”
The popular ChatGPT maker suggested a “holistic approach” involving voluntary partnerships between the federal government and private sector, while giving private companies exemption from the hundreds of AI-related bills introduced at the state level.
Concerns about overregulation are also felt among “middle tech” companies, which fear it could interfere with their prospects given their limited resources.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), a standards and technology trade organization, also pushed for federal primacy over state laws, with its senior vice president of government affairs, Michael Petricone, calling state-by-state AI regulations a “compliance nightmare.”
The CTA suggested these standards should be voluntary and industry-led to avoid crushing startups.
2. Strengthening export controls amid foreign competition
The need for strengthened export controls was a common request among some major AI firms, signaling an increased concern among the industry over foreign competition.
Anthropic pushed for hardened export controls specifically on semiconductors and semiconductor tooling and pointed to the first Trump administration’s restrictions as an effective approach.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s proposal for export controls placed a heavy focus on China, a similar concern of the Trump administration.
Read more takeaways in a full report at TheHill.com
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
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Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.
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