Trump Signs AI Executive Orders Amid Global Governance Debate

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders last week aimed at promoting advanced artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and security, sparking a global debate on the governance of this transformative technology. The first order establishes a secret testing process for advanced AI models, while the second directs the defense department to accelerate AI adoption, particularly in national cybersecurity.

According to The Guardian, Trump's orders emphasize maintaining U.S. leadership in AI over implementing safety measures. The orders allow government officials and a handful of named organizations to review and approve AI models before their release, with no public comment period or right to challenge the decisions. This approach has raised concerns about the lack of transparency and public oversight in AI development.

In contrast, Pope Leo XIV's encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas,' published earlier this month, focuses on the moral and ethical implications of AI. The encyclical argues that power should be constrained by morality and that lethal decisions should never be entrusted to artificial systems. This stance is at odds with Trump's strategic approach, which prioritizes U.S. dominance in AI over China.

According to Time, tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and David Sacks have had direct influence on the development of these policies, meeting with Trump before an earlier draft of the executive order was postponed. This dynamic has raised concerns about the imbalance of power between AI developers and the public in shaping the rules that govern this technology.

The debate over AI governance extends beyond national borders, with Reuters and CNBC reporting on Chinese hackers posing a significant espionage threat to tech firms. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, reported that China-linked hackers accounted for more than 58% of state-sponsored targeted cyberattacks aimed at tech companies, particularly their AI assets. This highlights the global stakes in the development and regulation of AI technology.

Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, is introducing legislation to place new limits on the Pentagon's use of artificial intelligence by requiring human oversight of the emerging technology. Schiff seeks to require supervision of AI-powered weapons and also aims to restrict the use of the tech for domestic surveillance. Most Democrats have been skeptical of the tech, as the Trump administration has, for the most part, embraced AI.

The Pentagon recently got into a legal dispute with AI company Anthropic after it refused to give the military unfettered access to its models for use on the battlefield. Speaking with Wall Street Journal, Schiff noted that, 'We're no longer anticipating these impacts. They're here.' 'AI could very well be the dominant issue in the next presidential election,' he added.

A recent CBS/YouGov poll showed skepticism toward the technology. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said that AI companies and developers are trying to encourage the use of AI to give themselves more power, as well as replace human workers with AI. Younger Americans also seem to be wary of the tech, as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by graduates at Arizona University when he mentioned the impact of AI on jobs.

Despite an overall positive outlook, the Trump administration is seeking to address some of the public concerns, apparently realizing that the issue is going to become a political football. Last week, Trump signed an executive order on AI, which marked a shift from a previous hands-off approach. He encouraged companies to voluntarily submit advanced models for government testing before public release and directed federal agencies to develop cybersecurity benchmarks, share information on AI-related vulnerabilities, and strengthen government defenses against emerging threats.

Trump also recently stunned AI leaders when he suggested that the American people could own 'pieces' of AI companies. 'There's so much money, it's so big. There are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies,' Trump said. 'The American people can benefit from the success of AI — and if they do that, they're going to like it better.'

David Sacks, the president's former AI czar, noted in a post on X that 'Nationalization of AI will accelerate the corporate-government fusion we're already sliding toward.' 'America won't win the AI race if we beat China but end up with a CCP-style social credit system in the US - and that is the danger as the government becomes more deeply involved in AI development and assumes direct ownership and control,' he added.