The Scoop
A lobbying group representing the tech industry is urging the incoming Trump administration to broadly review existing federal authorities and rules regarding artificial intelligence to single out regulations that may be “unnecessarily impeding AI adoption.”
In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance first shared with Semafor, the group — BSA | The Software Alliance — also implores the incoming administration not to abandon efforts with allies to develop international frameworks on AI governance and standards and to pursue an “open data agenda” for AI.
It also calls for a national law regulating AI that puts the burden on developers to manage risks and assess impacts associated with high-risk systems.
BSA represents OpenAI, Microsoft, and other leading tech companies hoping to influence Washington and international policymakers as they chart a path forward on regulating AI. For his part, Trump has vowed to undo outgoing President Joe Biden’s landmark executive order, signaling his White House will impose fewer rules on the fast-moving technology.
In its letter, BSA pushes Trump to keep some of Biden’s moves. The group recommends that Trump administration officials expand a national AI research pilot established under Biden’s government and encourage agencies to adopt a risk management framework finalized by Biden’s Commerce Department.
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BSA isn’t focused solely on AI policy. The letter also encourages Trump to work with Congress to enact a national privacy law, negotiate new data transfer agreements with other countries, and coordinate approaches on US sanctions and export controls with allies.
The group also wants Trump to review Biden-era trade and investment restrictions — a nod toward rules curbing tech and investment flows to China — to ensure they are operating “in a coherent, efficient, and transparent manner” across agencies. Broadly, BSA expresses opposition to efforts by the US government to restrict investments in cutting-edge Chinese technologies on the basis of national security.
“Ensuring that US companies maintain the ability to invest and engage in the development of cutting-edge technology — wherever it occurs — is critical,” the letter states.