AI Industry Sends Policy Recommendations to Trump Administration: 4 Key Takeaways
Following a White House request for feedback on its “AI Action Plan,” various artificial intelligence (AI) firms and industry groups have submitted their recommendations, hoping to shape the Trump administration’s forthcoming policies regarding this crucial technology. Their goal is to ensure U.S. leadership in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Although coming from diverse industry players, the proposals share common ground, providing insights into how the industry envisions its future under President Trump.
The White House set a deadline for comments on its AI Action Plan, the feedback from which it says will guide future policy. Here are four key takeaways from these recommendations:
1. Need for a Federal Framework, But Not Excessive Regulation
Many companies and industry groups advocate for a clear regulatory framework but strongly oppose policies they believe would stifle AI innovation. OpenAI, in its 15-page response to the White House, called for a regulatory approach that allows “freedom to innovate.” The popular chatbot maker suggested a “holistic approach,” involving voluntary partnerships between the federal government and the private sector, while also exempting private companies from the hundreds of AI-related bills introduced at the state level.
While partnerships between the government and AI firms like OpenAI already exist, their longevity under potential cuts to the Commerce Department and its AI Safety Institute is uncertain. The AI industry has long sought regulatory clarity at the federal level. However, debates over these rules have stalled most measures in Congress. As a result, states have taken action, leading to a patchwork of regulations across the country, which firms argue are difficult to navigate.
“This patchwork of regulations risks bogging down innovation and, in the case of AI, undermining America’s leadership position,” OpenAI wrote. Mid-sized tech companies also share concerns about overregulation, fearing it could hinder their prospects due to limited resources. Internet Works, which represents companies such as Roblox, Pinterest, Discord, and Reddit, is calling for flexibility in any upcoming regulations. Regulation should “be scaled to the size and operational capacity of all participants to prevent smaller enterprises and middle tech companies from being disproportionately impacted,” the association stated in its proposal. Internet Works suggested a risk-based approach, implementing stricter oversight only when there is an increased risk of harm to users.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) also pushed for federal primacy. Michael Petricone, the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at CTA, called state-by-state AI regulations a “compliance nightmare.” The CTA proposed these standards should be voluntary and led by the industry to avoid harming startups. Trump, for his part, has hinted at reducing regulations, which may partially address these concerns. During his first week in office, Trump signed an executive order to revoke past government policies, which he said acted as “barriers to American AI innovation.”
2. Strengthening Export Controls Amid Foreign Competition
The request for stronger export controls was a common theme among major AI firms, signaling increased industry concern about foreign competition. Anthropic urged for stricter export controls, specifically on semiconductors and semiconductor tooling, and pointed to the Trump administration’s first-term restrictions as an effective approach. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s recommendations for export controls focused heavily on China, a concern shared by the Trump administration.
“A comprehensive export control strategy should do more than restrict the flow of AI technologies to the PRC—it should ensure that America is ‘winning diffusion’, i.e., that as much of the world as possible is aligned to democratic values and building on democratic infrastructure,” OpenAI wrote. Tightened chip exports were a key focus for the final days of the Biden administration, which announced an AI diffusion rule earlier this year. This rule limited chip sales to most countries except 18 U.S. allies and partners. OpenAI proposed several changes to this rule, including a more aggressive ban on China or nations aligned with the Chinese Communist Party accessing “democratic AI systems.” This comes nearly two months after the rise of the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. Though it took the internet and stock markets by storm in January after claiming to build a competitive model without U.S. chips at a fraction of the usual cost, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has largely dismissed DeepSeek as a real threat and called on the government to ban the startup’s models.
Google, the maker of the Gemini AI chatbot, approached the subject with a different tone, recognizing export controls’ potential role in national security when “carefully crafted.” The company criticized the Biden administration’s AI export rules, suggesting they are “counterproductive” and may undermine “economic competitiveness.”
3. Government Adoption of AI
As the government works to create AI policy, industry players want to see AI tools incorporated into the work of federal agencies. Both Google and OpenAI suggested the government “lead by example” in AI adoption and deployment. This could include using AI for streamlining purposes and modernizing agencies’ technologies to keep pace with foreign governments. AI firms have been increasing efforts to integrate their technology into government. In January, OpenAI launched a new version of its ChatGPT model specifically for government agencies and workers. Last month, scientists from the Department of Energy gathered to evaluate models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and other firms for science and national security purposes. Anthropic encouraged further model testing, including standardized frameworks, secure testing equipment, and teams of experts to identify risks or threats.
4. Increased Investment in AI Infrastructure
The Trump administration has emphasized the importance of AI infrastructure development since day one. Trump, joined by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other industry figures, announced an investment of up to $500 billion in building AI infrastructure in the U.S. This project, called Stargate, will, in Trump’s words, “keep” the technology in this country, referencing China as a competitor. AI firms appear to agree, particularly regarding infrastructure that can meet the enormous energy demands needed to build and maintain AI tools.
Anthropic suggested allocating existing federal funding toward energy infrastructure projects, while Google says the U.S. government should consider energy availability in its policies. “A potential lack of new energy supply is the core constraint to expanding AI infrastructure in the near term. Both training and inference computational needs for AI are growing rapidly,” Google wrote. A Department of Energy report from late last year stated that the energy demand for U.S. data centers tripled over the past 10 years and is projected to double or triple by 2028. The report also projects that data centers will consume between more than six and 12 percent of the U.S.’s electricity by 2028.
