Trump signs executive order to block state-level AI

US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to block state-level artificial intelligence (AI) regulations, aiming to establish unified federal standards and giving the Department of Justice authority to penalize states that impose rules deemed restrictive for the technology.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said: “We have to be unified,” noting that China does not have to deal with state legislatures. “China is unified because they have one vote -- that's President Xi. He says 'do it' and that's the end of that. We have a different system,” he added, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Trump said the US is seeing “massive investment coming in,” but requiring companies to secure fifty separate approvals from fifty states would make progress impossible.

The move followed pressure from Silicon Valley executives urging Trump to preempt state-level AI laws, which they argue are causing the US to fall behind China in the global race for artificial intelligence leadership.