To say the White House is ‘keen’ for the USA to be at the forefront of all things AI on the global stage is perhaps a bit of an understatement. Arguably, it’s been an AI feeding frenzy since day one of the current administration, and yet there are still calls for a further relaxing of AI regulation.
Earlier this week at the AWS summit in Washington, Trump’s AI czar David Sacks minimised the need for regulation of American-made AI chips amid fears they could be smuggled to bad actors (via Reuters). In response to a number of states’ attempts to both regulate AI and challenge the building of new data centres, Sacks said, “I do worry we’re on a trajectory where fear could overtake opportunity and we end up sort of crippling this wonderful progress that we’re seeing.”
He also said, “We talk about these chips like they could be smuggled in the back of a briefcase. That’s not what they look like. These are server racks that are eight feet tall and weigh two tons,” going on to add, “They don’t walk out doors. It’s very easy to basically verify that they’re where they’re supposed to be.” Mate, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
For a little context, Biden’s Executive Order 14110 was nixed on day one of Trump’s second presidential term. This executive order had tried to introduce at least some guard rails around the development and use of AI. Then in May, the current administration also scrapped the ‘AI Diffusion Rule,’ which was an attempt to limit who outside of the US could get their hands on America’s advanced semiconductors.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was not a fan of the rule. And now, David Sacks is echoing the sentiment of Huang’s earlier words of displeasure, saying, “China is not years and years behind us in AI. Maybe they’re three to six months. It’s a very close race.”
The White House later clarified Sacks was referring to China’s AI models, like DeepSeek, rather than their AI chips, but given Nvidia’s recently announced plans to build more AI chips in the US, perhaps it’s hardly surprising that Sacks is echoing the company’s CEO here. The White House also claims China’s AI chips are still years behind America’s, but recent developments, such as Huawei’s AI chips, have no doubt stoked the flames of this administration’s anxiety.
For just one more underscoring example, the Biden administration also previously attempted to curb the amount of American-made AI chips that were specifically going to the United Arab Emirates. Then last month, the Trump administration announced a plan for the UAE to build the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the US. In reference to this partnership and the earlier regulation, Sacks said, “What play are we giving them? We’re basically going to push them into the arms of China.”
