This was a historic week for AI policy. President Trump gave his first major speech on AI, the White House released its AI Action Plan, and President Trump signed three important executive orders. If you missed it, here is a recap of the major themes and actions. 🧵

1/ America is in an AI Race. Reminiscent of the way that President John F. Kennedy declared the space race, President Trump declared that America is in an AI race. This competition will reshape the global economy and determine who will be the superpowers of the 21st century: “Whether we like it or not, we are suddenly engaged in a fast-paced competition to build and refine this groundbreaking technology that will determine so much about the future of civilization.” President Trump assured America that we will do “whatever it takes” to win this contest that is so vital to our future economic prosperity and national security: “America is the country that started the AI race, and as President of the United States, I'm here today to declare that America is going to win it.”

2/ We win by out-innovating our competitors. President Trump declared that innovation was the key to winning the AI race. “America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape.” As the AI industry is just getting started, President Trump made clear that he wanted to see it grow and thrive: “We’re going to make this industry absolutely the top because right now, it's a beautiful baby that's born. We have to grow that baby and let that baby thrive.” President Trump promised to push back against state over-regulation, maintaining that we need one regulatory regime on AI, not 50 different ones. “You can’t have one state holding you up… We need one common sense federal standard that supersedes all states… We’re going to have one standard, one policy, one idea.” Similarly, President Trump rejected onerous regulations by global institutions: “We also have to watch Europe, Asia, and all foreign countries so that they don't make rules and regulations that make it impossible for you to do business." Finally, President Trump endorsed a common sense approach to intellectual property. He reaffirmed that AI models aren’t allowed to plagiarize outputs, but said that model training on inputs do not violate copyright law. “You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else that you've read or studied, you're supposed to pay for. We appreciate that, but just can't do it—because it's not doable.”

2/ We win by out-innovating our competitors. President Trump declared that innovation was the key to winning the AI race. “America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape.” As the AI industry is just getting started, President Trump made clear that he wanted to see it grow and thrive: “We’re going to make this industry absolutely the top because right now, it's a beautiful baby that's born. We have to grow that baby and let that baby thrive.” President Trump promised to push back against state over-regulation, maintaining that we need one regulatory regime on AI, not 50 different ones. “You can’t have one state holding you up… We need one common sense federal standard that supersedes all states… We’re going to have one standard, one policy, one idea.” Similarly, President Trump rejected onerous regulations by global institutions: “We also have to watch Europe, Asia, and all foreign countries so that they don't make rules and regulations that make it impossible for you to do business." Finally, President Trump endorsed a common sense approach to intellectual property. He reaffirmed that AI models aren’t allowed to plagiarize outputs, but said that model training on inputs do not violate copyright law. “You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book, or anything else that you've read or studied, you're supposed to pay for. We appreciate that, but just can't do it—because it's not doable.”

3/ Infrastructure is everything. Expanding upon the $92 billion of AI infrastructure investments that he announced in Pittsburgh on July 15, President Trump called for a massive buildout of AI data centers, chip manufacturing plants, and new power generation. He signed the first executive order of the day to eliminate red tape in the permitting and building process for this infrastructure. Because AI is very energy-intensive, he noted, AI dominance requires energy dominance. The President reiterated his long-held (and far-sighted) belief that we must unleash American energy — “drill, baby, drill” and “build, baby, build”. “My administration will use every tool at our disposal to ensure the U.S. can build and maintain the largest, most powerful and most advanced AI infrastructure anywhere on the planet… New data centers, semiconductor and chip manufacturing facilities, new power plants.” President Trump noted the job creation — especially blue-collar jobs — that would result: “The colossal investment in AI infrastructure will also create thousands of great paying jobs, including blue collar jobs. It will mean higher wages and more opportunity for energy workers, HVAC technicians, engineers, electricians, and hardworking citizens all across our land.”

4/ Export the American tech stack to win. President Trump affirmed that winning the AI race means that the world runs on the American technology stack, rather than China’s. “The last administration was obsessed with imposing restrictions on AI, including extreme restrictions on its exports. As you know, they made it very difficult to export. This alienated American partners and drove even our friends into the arms of China and other countries.” “Under my administration, we will maintain necessary protections for our national security, but we will never forget that the greatest threat of all is to forfeit the race and force our partners into rival technology. We're not going to do that.” That’s why President Trump signed a second executive order promoting the export of the American AI technology stack. “The Commerce and State Departments will partner with industry to deliver secure, full-stack AI export packages – including hardware, models, software, applications, and standards – to America’s friends.” This pro-export strategy builds on the historic deals that President Trump signed with the Gulf States on his Middle East trip in May.

6/ Putting America First. Winning the right way also requires putting the interest of Americans, especially the American worker, at the center of everything we do in AI. The President had some “hard talk” for Silicon Valley tech companies who had pushed outsourcing and offshoring as relentlessly as any industry. President Trump exhorted Silicon Valley to “a new spirit of patriotism and national loyalty.” “For too long, much of our tech industry pursued a radical globalism that left millions of Americans feeling distrustful and betrayed… Under President Trump, those days are over. We need US technology companies to be all in for America. We want you to put America first. You have to do that. That's all we ask.”

7/ Acknowledging sensible risk mitigation. Although we want a light touch on AI regulations, President Trump made clear that we do not intend to ignore the risks of this revolutionary technological power. We can monitor risks, and secure our edge, without stifling innovation. “We will prevent our advanced technologies from being misused or stolen by malicious actors.” “As with any such breakthrough,” President Trump acknowledged, “this technology brings the potential for bad as well as for good, for peril as well as for progress. But the daunting power of AI is… not going to be a reason for retreat from this new frontier. On the contrary, it is the more reason we must ensure it is pioneered first and best” in the United States.

8/ A Spirit of Optimism and the New Golden Age. Overall, the most striking aspect of the President's speech was the optimism about America reflected throughout it. He reminded America of its proud history as the world’s greatest innovator and a mighty engine of prosperity and freedom. “This is the nation that invented the light bulb, the telegraph, the computer chip, the smart phone, the GPS, the integrated circuit, and the internet. “Americans were the first to fly a plane, first to harness the atom, and first to plant our flag on the moon. We mastered the Industrial Age, we created the Digital Age, and now we are leading the world into the golden age, indeed, the golden age of America. “With your help, that golden age will be built by American workers. It will be powered by American energy. It will be run on American technology, improved by American artificial intelligence. And it will make America richer, stronger, greater, freer, and more powerful than ever before.” Thank you, President Trump, for leading so boldly on this great challenge and opportunity for the American people, and giving us the roadmap and the tools we need to once again “DOMINATE the future.” It is an honor to follow you along the clear path to victory you laid out this week, and into the new Golden Age for America that will result from it.

References: President Trump’s AI Strategy and Action Plan White House AI Action Plan (PDF) Transcript of President Trump's Address at 'Winning the AI Race' Event Executive Orders: Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government

References: President Trump’s AI Strategy and Action Plan White House AI Action Plan Transcript of President Trump's Address at 'Winning the AI Race' Event Executive Orders: Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government