White House AI Czar Defends Trump Push to Rein In State Rules

President Donald Trump, left, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick look on as White House AI czar David Sacks speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on December 11 in Washington.

Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images

White House AI czar David Sacks defended President Donald Trump’s push to rein in state-level regulation of artificial intelligence over objections from Democrats, saying the move seeks to ease a growing compliance burden for companies.

Under the directive signed by Trump on Thursday, Sacks said, the administration is moving toward developing with Congress a common standard for oversight of the emerging technology. Right now, AI model development can take place across multiple states, each with its own regulatory standards.