AI: Decision time nears on DC AI Policies. RTZ #660

The Bigger Picture, March 16, 2025

The time for the Trump administration to outline its differentiated policies on AI vs the Biden Administration is here. And of course actions for the new Congress to follow. As I highlighted on Saturday, both Google and OpenAI last week laid out their AI policy frameworks for the White House. Their high level focus was on copyright-proof AI model building, and easier export rules. Other AI firms are also weighing in ahead of the administration deadlines. This is the Bigger Picture, would like to highlight this Sunday.

Axios lays out the broader landscape in “How tech is weighing in on Trump 2.0’s AI stance”, and one thing is clear. It’s full speed ahead as long as it’s framed as US vs China in the AI ‘space race’:

“Major AI companies are hoping to shape how the White House will approach AI policy as the government shifts from a risk-averse approach to one of full-throttle acceleration.”

“Why it matters: Trump administration officials have made it clear that beating China is a major priority, and have been knocking down or reshaping Biden-era AI policy focused on safety.”

• “March 15 marks the deadline for comment on the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s “Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan,” following President Trump’s executive order calling for a new AI policy plan.”

As mentioned earlier, the leading AI companies are weighing in already:

“Zoom in: Google and OpenAI both used part of their filings to argue that AI developers should be legally cleared to train their systems on any information that is publicly accessible, even if it’s under copyright.”

“Catch up quick: We already summed up what Anthropic and OpenAI told the White House. Here are a few more notable filings we reviewed:”

“Google: The company calls for AI investment both federally and locally, for balanced export controls, public-private partnerships with national labs, and preemption of state-level AI laws.”

Microsoft is also calling for boosts to AI workforce ramping, a necessary input in this AI Tech Wave:

“Microsoft: The tech giant and major partner of OpenAI calls for investment in AI infrastructure, skills-based training and access to data in a summary of its filing seen by Axios.”

“TechNet: The tech lobbying group says that existing legislation often “already provides a way to more effectively regulate the safe use of AI” and it encourages an “incremental” approach to any new regulations in its filing, seen first by Axios.”

Next steps include:

“What’s next: The administration has until mid-July to develop and submit the AI “action plan” called for in Trump’s EO.”

OpenAI also framed the need to ‘keep growing and beat China’ in the AI race. The context for the efforts is the White House collecting comments on how “its national AI strategy should be”, while resetting policy from the Biden administration.

The list of AI companies getting their input into DC of course is a longer one, including Data infrastructure companies like Scale AI. And their founder/CEO Alexandr Wang also framing the issue in terms of US vs. China”:

“Wang knows that the current administration takes a dim view on “AI safety” and has instead worked to reframe the issue as a matter of national security. He has positioned Scale as a leading authority in this space—and an ideal partner to assume these functions if they’re removed from federal oversight.”

The industry is also asking for federal pre-emption of state AI laws, and infrastructure investments for AI growth. And of course further government adoption of AI.

Another pending issue is the administration’s stance on the Biden administration AI Diffusion Rules, with its tiering of the global market for AI GPU and data center infrastructure, for US companies. That as I noted earlier, is an ‘unforced error’ that needs adjusting, particularly for US tech companies like Nvidia, Oracle and others.

And then of course is the Trump administration’s ultimate approach to the pending US TikTok ban. Oracle for now seems to be in pole position to be part of any possible transaction.

These are the overall issues to keep in mind in terms of the regulatory Bigger Picture in the coming weeks. As the administration chooses its preferred courses of action on this AI Tech Wave. Stay tuned.

(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)