Barely couple of hours after inauguration as the 47th United States President, Donald Trump has revoked about 80 executive actions of his immediate predecessor in office, Joe Biden.
The revoked executive orders include the withdrawal of Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror, sanctions on Jewish settlers in the West Bank, COVID -19, Immigration policies and the reduction of risks over artificial intelligence (AI).
The revoked orders were part of a mass reversal of Biden-era policies that Trump signed at Capital One arena following his swearing-in on Monday.
The revoked executive order
Biden only recently removed Cuba from the terror list. But the list of revoked orders Trump signed on Monday did not specify individual reasons for reversing the Biden’s executive orders.
But Trump had revoked the 2023 executive order signed by Joe Biden that sought to reduce the risks that artificial intelligence (AI) posed to consumers, workers and national security.
Reuters also reports that Biden’s order required developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the US government, in line with the Defense Production Act, before they were released to the public.
The order also directed agencies to set standards for that testing and address related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks.
It is important to note that Biden’s order came as US lawmakers failed to pass legislation setting guardrails for AI development.
The 2024 Republican Party platform had vowed to repeal the order that it said hinders AI innovation and added “Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing.”
Generative AI, which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts, has spurred excitement as well as fears it could make some jobs obsolete or have other negative consequences.
Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department issued new restrictions on AI chip and technology exports that drew criticism from industry including companies like Nvidia (NVDA.O)
Biden had issued a separate executive order last week to provide federal support to address massive energy needs for fast-growing advanced AI data centers, calling for leasing federal sites owned by Defense and Energy departments. Trump did not repeal that order.
