On December 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring a national policy framework for artificial intelligence,” asserting that the United States is in a “race with adversaries” for AI “supremacy.” The order aims to reform state laws regulating AI, claiming these regulations hinder innovation. It establishes an AI litigation task force to challenge such laws and threatens to withhold funding from states that enforce them.
A segment of the AI research community, alongside tech investors, argues that prioritizing public safety over technological development could grant China a significant advantage. This perspective is encapsulated in the influential essay “Situational Awareness: the Decade Ahead” by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI alignment researcher turned investor. “Superintelligence will be the most powerful technology — and most powerful weapon — mankind has ever developed,” Aschenbrenner stated, emphasizing the need for a competitive edge over China to navigate the risks associated with emerging superintelligence.
Aschenbrenner outlines scenarios reminiscent of science fiction, suggesting capabilities such as nanobots neutralizing Chinese nuclear arsenals or missile interception systems with flawless accuracy as justifying the push for rapid AI development. For proponents of this hypothetical future, Trump’s executive order may seem logical. However, the national security rationale is contradicted by the administration’s recent decisions regarding semiconductor exports.
On December 8, just three days before the executive order was signed, Trump approved the export of Nvidia’s H200 semiconductors to China. The H200 is among the most advanced AI chips ever produced, marking a policy reversal from both the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration, which had instituted restrictions on semiconductor exports to slow China’s development in AI and computing. Prior to this approval, the most advanced chip available to Chinese customers was Nvidia’s H20, designed specifically to comply with export controls.
The approved H200 chips, which are 13 times more powerful than the H20s and utilized by organizations like OpenAI and Google, could enable Nvidia to ship roughly a million units to China. This would increase China’s total AI computing capacity by 250% in 2026 compared to reliance solely on domestic chips, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). While China must still approve these imports, the Trump administration’s decision underscores the inconsistency of its executive order.
“In every other element of the AI stack — data, research talent, algorithmic innovation, applications, and electricity generation — China either equals or surpasses the United States,” CFR noted. Currently, chips represent the only competitive advantage for the U.S. in AI, suggesting that the executive order is more ideologically driven than rooted in genuine competition or national security concerns.
The Trump administration has consistently positioned itself against what it terms “wokeness,” a term used pejoratively to criticize efforts toward diversity and equity. This ideological stance is reflected in various policies, including an executive order on the first day of Trump’s presidency that mandated the recognition of only two biological sexes by federal departments.
Many state AI regulations fall within this “woke” framework. For instance, Colorado’s Artificial Intelligence Act requires firms to conduct impact assessments and disclose how they manage algorithmic discrimination risks. In Illinois, laws prohibit employers from using AI that unintentionally discriminates based on protected classes, and New York City mandates independent bias audits for automated hiring tools. Although these measures are designed as consumer protections, the current administration views them as ideological overreach.
Despite the executive order’s intention to streamline AI development, its legal standing is precarious, and even advocates of deregulation express discontent. The order has disrupted congressional efforts to establish a cohesive federal AI framework, replacing a potential industry-friendly legislative approach with executive overreach, according to POLITICO. Meanwhile, there is a palpable concern regarding whether China will accept the advanced chips that the Trump administration has made available.
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