White House Releases America’s AI Action Plan

On July 23, 2025, the White House released America’s AI Action Plan. The plan, initiated by President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14179, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence," asserts that AI breakthroughs will "reshape the global balance of power, spark entirely new industries, and revolutionize the way we live and work." The plan emphasizes a "national security imperative" to secure technological dominance against global competitors, particularly China. The strategy is built on three pillars: Accelerate AI Innovation, Build American AI Infrastructure, and Lead in International AI Diplomacy and Security. Key principles include prioritizing American workers, ensuring AI systems are free from ideological bias and pursue objective truth, and preventing misuse or theft of advanced technologies by malicious actors. The plan aims to foster an "industrial revolution, an information revolution, and a renaissance—all at once" through AI.

Main Themes

1. The Imperative of Global AI Dominance

The core premise of the plan is the urgent need for the United States to win the global AI race. The introduction states, "Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits. Just like we won the space race, it is imperative that the United States and its allies win this race." This dominance is framed as a "national security imperative."

2. Three Pillars of the AI Action Plan

The strategy is structured around three pillars:

Pillar I: Accelerate AI Innovation: This pillar focuses on creating the conditions for a flourishing domestic AI ecosystem by removing regulatory barriers, promoting free speech and American values in AI development, encouraging open-source AI, enabling broad adoption, empowering American workers, supporting next-generation manufacturing, investing in AI-enabled science and datasets, advancing the science of AI, and accelerating government and defense adoption of AI.
Pillar II: Build American AI Infrastructure: This pillar addresses the foundational requirements for AI growth, including streamlining permitting for data centers, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and energy infrastructure, developing a robust electric grid, restoring American semiconductor manufacturing, building high-security data centers for military and intelligence, training a skilled workforce for AI infrastructure, and bolstering cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and AI systems.
Pillar III: Lead in International AI Diplomacy and Security: This pillar emphasizes extending U.S. AI influence abroad by exporting American AI to allies, countering Chinese influence in international governance bodies, strengthening export controls on AI compute and semiconductor manufacturing, aligning protection measures globally, evaluating national security risks in frontier models, and investing in biosecurity.

3. Core Principles Guiding the Strategy

Several principles underpin the entire action plan:

Worker-First Approach: The Administration "will ensure that our Nation’s workers and their families gain from the opportunities created in this technological revolution." AI is seen as complementing work, not replacing it, creating high-paying jobs through infrastructure buildout and improving living standards.
Objectivity and Free Speech: AI systems "must be free from ideological bias and be designed to pursue objective truth rather than social engineering agendas when users seek factual information or analysis." The plan aims to ensure that "free speech flourishes in the era of AI."
Security and Vigilance: The plan stresses the need to "prevent our advanced technologies from being misused or stolen by malicious actors as well as monitor for emerging and unforeseen risks from AI," which “will require constant vigilance."
Deregulation and “Build, Baby, Build!”: An emphasis is placed on "dismantl[ing] unnecessary regulatory barriers that hinder the private sector." The plan rejects "radical climate dogma and bureaucratic red tape" to facilitate infrastructure development, stating, "Simply put, we need to 'Build, Baby, Build!'" 

Recommended Policy Actions

The plan sets forth recommended policy actions under each pillar, directed across various Federal agencies, as summarized below.

Pillar I: Accelerate AI Innovation

• Deregulate and Remove Red Tape: Identify and repeal regulations hindering AI development; consider states' AI regulatory climate in Federal funding decisions; evaluate whether state regulations interfere with the FCC’s ability to carry out its obligations; and review all FTC investigations and orders to ensure they do not unduly burden AI innovation.
• Promote Free Speech and American Values: Revise the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to eliminate references to "misinformation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and climate change"; update Federal procurement guidelines to ensure objective and bias-free AI; and publish evaluations of frontier models from China for alignment with Chinese Communist Party talking points and censorship.
• Encourage Open-Source and Open-Weight AI: Facilitate access to large-scale computing power for startups and academics; partner with tech companies for research access; publish a new National AI R&D Strategic Plan to guide Federal research investments; and help drive adoption of open-source and open-weight models.
• Enable AI Adoption: Establish "regulatory sandboxes or AI Centers of Excellence" in critical sectors, such as healthcare and energy, to deploy and test AI tools; launch domain-specific efforts to adopt national standards for AI systems and measure the impact of AI on productivity; and distribute intelligence on foreign frontier AI projects that may have national security implications.
• Empower American Workers: Prioritize AI skill development in education and workforce funding; clarify tax-free reimbursement for AI-related training; study AI’s labor market impact; establish an "AI Workforce Research Hub"; and fund retraining for displaced workers.
• Support Next-Generation Manufacturing: Invest in developing foundational manufacturing technologies; and convene stakeholders to identify supply chain challenges to American robotics and drone manufacturing.
•  Invest in AI-Enabled Science and Datasets: Invest in automated cloud-enabled labs; support Focused-Research Organizations using AI to make fundamental scientific advancements; incentivize publication of high-quality datasets; recommend minimum data quality standards for use in AI model training; lower barriers to accessing Federal data; establish secure compute environments for controlled access to restricted Federal data; and explore the creation of a whole-genome sequencing program for life on Federal lands.
• Advance AI Science and Interoperability: Prioritize investment in research to discover new AI paradigms; launch a technology development program to advance AI interoperability, control, and robustness; and coordinate an AI hackathon initiative to test AI systems for transparency, effectiveness, use control, and vulnerabilities.
• Build an AI Evaluations Ecosystem: Publish guidelines for Federal agencies to evaluate AI systems; support the science of AI model measurement and evaluation; investing in AI testbeds to prototype new AI systems; empower collaborative establishment of new measurement science to promote the development of AI.
•  Accelerate AI Adoption in Government: Formalize the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Council (CAIOC) as the primary venue for interagency collaboration; create a talent-exchange program; develop an "AI procurement toolbox" that facilitates uniformity across agencies; mandate training and access to frontier language models for Federal employees; and increase use of AI to improve services to the public.
•  Drive Adoption of AI in the DOD: Implement talent development program to meet AI workforce requirements; establish an AI & Autonomous Systems Virtual Proving Ground; develop a list of priority workflows for automation with AI; codify in DOD-led agreements priority access to computing resources in the event of a national emergency; and grow Senior Military Colleges into hubs of AI research, development, and talent building.
• Protect AI Innovations: Enable private sector to actively protect AI innovations from security risks and malicious cyber actors.
• Combat Deepfakes in the Legal System: Consider developing NIST’s Guardians of Forensic Evidence deepfake evaluation program into a formal guideline; issue guidance to agencies that engage in adjudications to explore a deepfake standard; and file formal comments on proposed deepfake-related additions to the Federal Rules of Evidence.

II. Build American AI Infrastructure:

• Create Streamlined Permitting for Data Centers: Establish new Categorical Exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Action (NEPA) for data centers; expand use of FAST-41 to cover data centers and data center energy projects; explore nationwide Clean Water Act permits for data centers;  expedite environmental permitting; make Federal lands available for data center and power generation construction; maintain security guardrails for data center infrastructure; and expand application of AI to improve environmental reviews.
• Develop Energy Grid: Stabilize and optimize existing grid resources; prioritize interconnection of reliable power sources; embrace new energy sources (e.g., enhanced geothermal and nuclear); and create strategic blueprint for navigating the current complex energy landscape.
• Restore American Semiconductor Manufacturing: Continue focus on strong return on investment for CHIPS-funded projects; streamline regulations that slow semiconductor manufacturing efforts; and ensure that semiconductor grant and research programs accelerate the integration of AI tools into semiconductor manufacturing.
• Build High-Security Data Centers: Create new technical standards for high-security AI data centers for military and intelligence usage; and advance agency adoption of classified compute environments.
• Train a Skilled Workforce for AI Infrastructure: Create a national initiative to identify high-priority occupations for AI infrastructure and develop national skill frameworks; create industry-driven training programs; expand early career exposure programs and pre-apprenticeships; provide guidance to state and local career and technical education (CTE) systems; expand use of Registered Apprenticeships and hands-on research training and development opportunities.
• Bolster Cybersecurity: Establish an AI Information Sharing and Analysis Center (AI-ISAC) to share threat information; issue guidance on remediating AI vulnerabilities and threats; and ensure collaborative sharing of known vulnerabilities to the private sectors.
• Promote Secure-By-Design AI Technologies: Continue to refine DOD’s Responsible AI and Generative AI Frameworks, Roadmaps, and Toolkits; and publish an Intelligence Community (IC) Standard on AI Assurance under the auspices of IC Directive 505 on AI.
• Promote Federal Capacity for AI Incident Response: Ensure AI is included in the establishment of standards, frameworks, and technical capabilities of incident response teams; modify the Cybersecurity Incident & Vulnerability Response Playbooks to incorporate considerations for AI systems; and encourage responsible sharing of AI vulnerability information.

III. Lead in International AI Diplomacy and Security:

• Export American AI: Gather industry proposals for "full-stack AI export packages" — including hardware, model, software, applications, and standards—to allies; and facilitate deals that meet U.S.-approved security requirements and standards.
  
• Counter Chinese Influence: Advocate for international AI governance that promotes innovation, reflects American values, and counter authoritarian influence.
  
• Strengthen AI Compute Export Control Enforcement: Explore the use of location verification features on advanced AI compute; collaborate with IC officials on global chip export control enforcement; and ensure full coverage of possible countries where chips are being diverted.
  
• Plug Loopholes in Semiconductor Manufacturing Export Controls: Develop new export controls on semiconductor manufacturing subsystems to address gaps in current controls that focus on major systems.
  
• Align Protection Measures Globally: Develop and share information on complementary technology protection measures with allies to mitigate risks from adversaries; develop a technology diplomacy strategic plan for an AI global alliance; expand plurilateral controls for the AI tech stack; and coordinate with allies to adopt U.S. export controls and prohibit adversaries from supplying their defense-industrial base.
  
• Evaluate National Security Risks in Frontier Models: Evaluate frontier AI systems for national security risks; evaluate potential security vulnerabilities and malign foreign influence; recruit leading AI researchers at Federal agencies; and build national security-related AI evaluations.
  
• Invest in Biosecurity: Require recipients of Federal funding for scientific research to use nucleic acid synthesis tools with robust screening and customer verification; and develop a mechanism for data sharing between providers to screen for fraudulent or malicious customers.
   

• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Technology