White House Postpones AI Executive Order

Recently, President Donald Trump postponed signing a planned executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) after raising concerns that some provisions could hinder U.S. innovation and weaken the nation’s competitive edge against China. The order, which Trump had been expected to sign during a White House event with AI industry CEOs last week, would have established a voluntary framework for AI developers to engage with the federal government before publicly releasing advanced AI models.

"I didn't like certain aspects of it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week. "I think it gets in the way of, you know, we're leading China. We're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that."

According to media reports, the proposed directive was intended to address growing administration concerns over cybersecurity risks associated with advanced AI systems. The framework reportedly called for voluntary federal reviews of cutting-edge AI products up to 90 days before public release, involving agencies such as the Treasury Department, the National Security Agency (NSA) and the White House cyber office.

Trump said that AI is "causing tremendous good" and generating jobs but expressed concern that aspects of the order "could have been a blocker" to innovation and deployment.

The executive order also was expected to direct the federal government to use advanced AI tools to strengthen cybersecurity protections across government systems and critical infrastructure sectors, including banking and healthcare networks.

Industry advocates have voiced concern that additional review requirements could slow the rollout of new AI models or force companies to alter products in ways that could affect performance and profitability.

The White House has not said when the signing of the revised executive order may be rescheduled.

This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of Associations and Inroads.