Overview
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a single federal framework for AI, directing the Justice Department to form a litigation task force and instructing Commerce to flag conflicting state rules.
- The order threatens to restrict access to federal broadband deployment funds for states whose AI laws are deemed incompatible with federal policy.
- Trump framed the move as essential to outpacing China, arguing that fragmented approvals across 50 states would stifle investment and leave the U.S. at a disadvantage.
- Major tech players and investors, including leaders at OpenAI, Google, and Nvidia, welcomed a national standard, while adviser David Sacks said the administration would target only the most onerous state measures and not child-safety rules.
- Time named the 'Architects of AI' as Person of the Year, featuring Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, Fei-Fei Li, and Lisa Su to symbolize AI’s outsized impact and the debates over its risks.