Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that proposes to challenge and dismantle a range of “cumbersome” artificial intelligence (AI) laws at state and city level in the US and replace them with a not yet defined national AI regulatory framework.

The move is supposedly an effort to “sustain and enhance the United States’ global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.” But at what cost?

By attempting to void existing regulatory frameworks, the Trump administration is promoting a future in which many components of society are reliant on AI, but where accountability for the impact of these systems is further out of reach.

In an ideal world, a national regulatory framework governing AI would expand safeguards, transparency, and access to justice for people across the US who are harmed by algorithmic and automated systems, in a consistent and equitable way. But in the context of this administration, the reality is likely to be a regulatory vacuum.

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has ripped up previous federal policies governing discriminatory AI, removed safeguards across government-held data , and given tech companies expansive access to sensitive personal federal data . It has also increased its financial

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