Putting aside each person’s personal opinions and political preferences, it is indisputable that the new 119th Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration are making deep changes at a dizzying speed in areas as varied as immigration, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), aviation, gender, the functioning of the federal government, the environment, international relations, and of course, technology. The new administration promised to lead us to a new “golden age of America” through legislation and Executive orders (EO).
Naturally, charitable organizations focus on key issues for the sector, such as DEI, the environment, immigration, the census, and more. You can find more details about the new administration’s executive orders and their impact on charitable organizations in the National Council of Nonprofits’ tracker.
However, one area, although not one of the sector’s traditional interests, is gaining ground as a critical area for the country’s economy and the sector’s future. I am talking, of course, about regulations in artificial intelligence. Here are four updates about how this new congress and the Trump administration are reshaping the AI universe, and why this could impact our organizations:
– A fresh start. In his first week in office, President Trump and his team made it clear that they wanted to take a completely different direction in AI regulation. As part of the package of executive orders signed on his first day in office, President Trump rescinded the Biden-era EO that shaped some requirements for AI developers, eliminating one of the previous administration’s core measures on the matter: the requirement for developers of the most advanced AI models to share the results of safety testing with the government. According to Maria Curi from Axios, “The Trump administration has not offered new language,” but one thing is clear: “innovation and competition above all else. Deregulation is now the name of the game.”
– Drill, baby, drill. The famous phrase used by now President Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, which was coined in the heart of the Republican Party in 2008, not only reflects the new Administration’s energy policy, but also illustrates its overlap with Congress on the subject of artificial intelligence. The urgency of removing any regulatory barriers to ensuring U.S. preeminence in this area is a key part of the Trump administration agenda and the 119th Congress. For example, the House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, in its December report, states that “the United States is best positioned to responsibly enable the potential of this transformative technology for all. To maintain this leadership and enable the U.S. economy to harness the full benefits of AI, policymakers should continue to promote AI innovation.” Meanwhile, “President Trump has made it clear from day one that his top priority on AI is out-innovating the rest of the world,” said Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) Executive Director Eric Gastfriend.
To realize this priority, the new administration published two new EOs to shape its vision of AI. First, it created the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), in order to “advise the President on matters involving science, technology, education, and innovation policy. The Council shall also provide the President with scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the American economy, the American worker, national and homeland security, and other topics.” The second EO, Removing Barriers to American Leadership In Artificial Intelligence, orders the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan in the next 180 days. It also orders taking the necessary measures to ensure that the regulations imposed by the Biden administration are removed and to ensure that “it is the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.”
– National defense, Existential risk, safety for children, and deepfake prevention. Not everything is deregulation, however. There are areas where bipartisan consensus coincides with positions expressed by key individuals within the administration that may lead to tighter regulation in certain areas of AI. Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks previously expressed concerns about AI’s role in national security, Elon Musk shared thoughts about AI without control and how that “is a significant existential threat.”
Meanwhile, in Congress, bipartisan bills like the Take It Down Act, introduced by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), are mulling over how Congress can align itself to regulate specific areas of AI, such as “the publication of non-consensual, sexually exploitative images — including AI-generated deepfakes.” Last year, this bill passed by the Senate by unanimous consent.
– AI governance is crucial. This new era of AI regulation (or deregulation) on the federal level poses new challenges and opportunities for the nonprofit sector regarding AI. Independent Sector, aligned with other organizations like the National Health Council, and Stanford Social Innovation Review, promotes the need to prepare the sector and its workforce, to develop AI governance policies and to take a human-centered AI approach to manage the Data Privacy, Misinformation, and Algorithmic Bias and other risks associated with AI and take advantage of the AI technology, to increase the effectiveness with which we use our resources and serve our communities.
There are still more questions than answers about how this regulation will evolve. The arrival of new competitors, such as DeepSeek, will intensify the race for leadership in the development of AI technology, and this will indeed reinforce the new administration’s commitment to deregulation and support for AI innovation. This highlights the need to prepare our sector, deepen our AI literacy, develop strong AI governance frameworks in our organizations, and prepare our workforce for a revolution that is here.
Manuel Gomez is Manager, Public Policy, at Independent Sector.
