Legal Challenges Emerge Against Trump's AI Action Plan

The Trump administration's recently unveiled AI Action Plan is facing anticipated legal challenges from civil rights advocates and copyright holders, complicating its rollout. The plan, introduced during an AI Summit in Washington, D.C., seeks to establish U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence by implementing three executive orders that dismantle many of President Biden's policies aimed at protecting AI integrity. Key aspects of the plan include urgent construction of necessary data centers for AI development, promotion of U.S.-made AI technologies, and a ban on federal procurement of AI technologies perceived as having partisan biases.

Legal experts have voiced concerns that creating wholly bias-free AI algorithms is impractical. Stanford law professor Mark Lemley emphasized that the administration's requirements may misinterpret the fundamental operational nature of AI, noting that inherent biases in AI systems cannot be eliminated. Further complicating this issue, Cornell's Aditya Vashistha questioned who would be responsible for defining 'truth' in AI outputs, underscoring the subjective nature of bias declaration.

The plan also proposes protections for large language models from copyright infringement claims, potentially inciting extensive legal battles over intellectual property rights. Experts predict that disputes regarding copyright and AI usage could escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court, especially as counsel, such as technology lawyer Star Kashman, argues it is essential for developers to secure rights before leveraging existing works in AI.