Tech giants including Sam Altman reverse AI stance, seek deregulation

Tech companies have dramatically reversed their stance on AI regulation since President Trump‘s election victory, abandoning earlier calls for government oversight in favor of aggressive deregulation requests. This shift represents a strategic pivot by Silicon Valley‘s most powerful AI developers, who previously warned Congress about AI’s potential dangers but now seek to remove obstacles to rapid deployment and commercialization of their technologies, aligning with Trump’s stated goal of outpacing China in advanced technologies.

The big picture: Major AI companies including Meta, Google, and OpenAI have executed a complete policy reversal, moving from actively requesting federal guardrails to demanding regulatory freedom.

• Just two years ago, industry leaders like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress that AI could go “quite wrong” and urged government intervention to prevent harmful outcomes.
• This dramatic shift in positioning coincides with Trump’s election and his declared priority of using AI as a competitive weapon against China in the technological arms race.

Key corporate demands: Tech giants have presented the incoming Trump administration with an expansive wish list aimed at clearing regulatory hurdles to AI development and deployment.

• The companies want federal action to preempt and block state-level AI laws that might restrict their operations.
• They’re seeking legal declarations that would permit unrestricted use of copyrighted materials for AI training purposes.

Beyond regulation: The industry’s requests extend far beyond simply avoiding oversight, including substantial government resource commitments.

• Companies are requesting access to federal data repositories to develop their AI systems.
• They’re lobbying for easier access to energy sources needed for their massive computing operations.
• The wish list includes financial incentives through tax breaks, grants, and other government support measures.

Why this matters: This policy reversal reveals how the tech industry’s public positioning on AI safety was potentially contingent on the political environment rather than representing fixed ethical principles about technology governance.

• The timing suggests companies may have been hedging their regulatory positions during a period of greater scrutiny, while actually preferring minimal oversight.
• This shift creates significant implications for how AI will develop in the United States, with fewer guardrails against potential harms previously acknowledged by the same industry leaders.