The Trump administration plans to issue an executive order that targets tech companies with what it views as “woke” artificial intelligence models. It’s the latest move by the White House to snuff out diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, July 17.
What will the order do?
Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Journal reports that the anticipated order will stipulate that AI firms receiving federal contracts maintain political neutrality and remain unbiased in their AI models. The move is in line with the administration’s efforts to eliminate what it sees as liberal bias in some products.
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Conservative complaints about AI models
As AI chatbots become more prevalent globally, some conservatives have complained that certain chatbots’ responses have a left-leaning bias. Some companies have faced backlash for certain prompt responses that upset users or for pictures inaccurately depicting historical figures and events. Some criticized Google last year after its Gemini AI assistant displayed a Black George Washington and racially diverse Nazis.
Those developments have reportedly raised concerns among AI Czar David Sacks and senior White House policy advisor for AI Sriram Krishnan, the authors of the executive order and two of President Donald Trump’s top advisors on technology.
What does it mean for Big Tech?
The order could have widespread impact as nearly all Big Tech firms are working to obtain AI technology used by the federal government. It may also prompt companies to tread carefully when developing AI models.
Researchers typically train AI models using a large variety of information from throughout the internet and other published sources. The models aren’t perfect, and can sometimes generate inaccurate answers or even unsolicited responses. Those mishaps can lead to users finding the models inaccurate or biased.
The administration plans to announce the executive order next week, along with several other initiatives. Another of which is said to encourage exports of American chips and AI technology using organizations such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank, as noted by The Journal. The Trump administration views the export of AI tools to countries aligned with the United States as essential for safeguarding American AI on a global scale and competing with advancements in Chinese AI. Sacks and Kishnan are reportedly leading a charge to ramp up exports of high-performance AI chips from Nvidia to nations like the United Arab Emirates.
Neither the Trump administration nor the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is managing some AI efforts, would comment on the report.
Why is it controversial?
While the federal government can enact laws creating regulations for companies, the president can’t tell private companies what they can and can’t do. For private companies receiving federal funding, Congress can create stipulations that they must follow to continue receiving federal funding. However, this must be done by Congress since it controls how government money is spent, not the president.
The executive order targeting “woke” AI may be the most polarizing measure because some in Big Tech may view it as the administration favoring some developers over others.
Straight Arrow News reported that Elon Musk’s xAI has prioritized making its Grok chatbot neutral on politics and touted it as “anti-woke.” However, Grok has still experienced controversy after reports of antisemitic responses, including one praising Hitler.
Musk and Sacks are allies and have worked together in the past. But Musk recently left the Trump administration after a major dispute with the president. Despite the feud and latest controversy, xAI announced on Monday, July 14, it had been awarded a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense.
Meanwhile, some companies have attempted to develop AI models without safeguards in an effort to avoid alleged censorship of their products.
AI developer Anthropic could be in the headlights of the executive order, as it has hired several people from the Biden administration and has come out against Trump’s policy on chip exports and AI rules. This may open the company up to criticism from Sacks and others within the White House, according to The Journal’s sources.
The Trump administration is seeking to eliminate DEI initiatives within the federal government and in businesses that work with the government through executive actions.
