Trump signs executive order banning 'woke AI' in federal government

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a string of executive orders related to artificial intelligence (AI), including an order that prevents the federal government from implementing "woke AI" in its workforce.

The order seeks to limit federal agencies from signing contracts for AI models unless they are considered “truth seeking” and maintain “ideological neutrality," warning that allowing bias into the models would distort their accuracy.

"Artificial intelligence (will play a critical role in how Americans of all ages learn new skills, consume information, and navigate their daily lives," the executive order stated. "Americans will require reliable outputs from AI, but when ideological biases or social agendas are built into AI models, they can distort the quality and accuracy of the output."

The president claimed one of the most "pervasive" ideologies and biases was related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that could distort facts about race and gender to push a certain agenda.

"DEI displaces the commitment to truth in favor of preferred outcomes and, as recent history illustrates, poses an existential threat to reliable AI," Trump said. 

Trump additionally claimed that one example of the bias allegedly caused by DEI was that an AI model changed the race and sex of certain historical figures, including the pope and founding fathers, when prompted for images of the people.

The president also signed two other orders Wednesday, the first of which supports the construction and expansion of new data centers and semiconductor fabrication plants. The second calls for the creation of an American AI Exports Program.

The president signed the orders at an AI summit in Washington, D.C., which was part of his three-pronged approach to “winning the race” on AI.  

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.