Trump’s AI Policy: Fast Lane to a Wild West?

xAI (by Flux)

With President Trump soon back in the White House, the U.S. is set for a policy shake-up that could turn whatever exists of public U.S. AI oversight on its head. Trump and the GOP have already pledged to scrap Biden’s AI Executive Order — the closest thing the U.S. has to any AI “rules.” Meanwhile, some Silicon Valley VCs and tech titans have backed candidates pushing crypto freedom while sidestepping AI regulation entirely. If you believe AI experts, AI is set to reshape how we live, work, and thrive, marking it as the most transformative technology of our lifetimes. The way we choose to implement AI could fundamentally alter the world as we know it, making it perhaps the most important policy area.

In this climate, here are six critical questions on the future of AI policy in the U.S.:

1. What happens to AI regulation without Biden’s Executive Order? It’s unclear if scrapping this framework will open new avenues for innovation or raise new risks, especially with safety and ethical standards now in limbo. Will states like California try to shape AI through local regulations in the absence of national guidance? How would that affect AI development?
2. Will tech giants continue to call the shots? With VCs like a16z invested in Musk’s xAI, OpenAI, and Mistral, it’s starting to look like tech policy is driven by those with…