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White House AI plan focuses on beating China
White House AI plan focuses on beating China

Axios

time8 hours ago

  • Business
  • Axios

White House AI plan focuses on beating China

The White House's AI action plan released on Wednesday focuses on beating China and accelerating the tech's advancement in the U.S. Why it matters:"Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan" at its core gives industry the green light to move as rapidly as it wants, all in the name of global competition. The big picture: Industry has been eager for the long-awaited plan to get a sense of what direction the Trump administration wants to go on AI, and just how it aims to differ from the Biden-era focus on safety. President Trump is set to appear at an event in Washington later on Wednesday with top tech leaders to discuss the document. The plan lays out the administration's aspirations for AI with specific goals that officials believe can be completed in Trump's second term. Driving the news: As Axios first reported last week, the plan ordered in Trump's January AI executive order is largely about messaging a hands-off, pro-growth approach to AI. The report focuses on three main "pillars" of accelerating AI innovation, building American AI infrastructure and leading in international AI diplomacy and security. What's inside: The report highlights four key policies: exporting American AI, promoting rapid buildout of data centers, enabling AI innovation and adoption, and free speech in frontier models. The action plan states that "the Federal government should not allow AI-related federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds, but should also not interfere with states' rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation." It's a nod to what Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz tried to do via reconciliation, but faced too much backlash. The administration will put out a request for information on federal regulations it views as impeding AI innovation. Per the report, any state laws that the Trump administration deems in conflict with the federal standards set out in the Communications Act could be used as the basis to deny funding. OMB will work with all federal agencies with AI-related discretionary funding to ensure "they consider a state's AI regulatory climate" when making funding decisions. AI and free speech: At the federal level, the plan calls to change procurement standards for AI deemed too liberal or "woke" and to update the AI risk management framework to delete mentions of DEI, misinformation and climate change. Encouraging open-source AI: The plan aims to help startups and academics get access to compute via private-public partnerships at NAIRR, Commerce, OSTP and the National Science Foundation. The plan also urges various departments to adopt programs that will train people to work in AI jobs and prioritize government investment in emerging technologies like drones and self-driving cars. Export controls: Per the report, "the United States must meet global demand for AI by exporting its full AI technology stack— hardware, models, software, applications, and standards—to all countries willing to join America's AI alliance." What we're watching: At an event later on Wednesday, Trump is slated to sign executive orders to give agency directives for the AI action plan.

Time to get real about the Muslim Brotherhood's Mideast menace
Time to get real about the Muslim Brotherhood's Mideast menace

New York Post

time8 hours ago

  • Politics
  • New York Post

Time to get real about the Muslim Brotherhood's Mideast menace

The United States may finally be getting serious about defanging the Muslim Brotherhood. A new bill making its way through Congress, the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025, represents a new chapter in America's complex history with the oldest and most influential Islamist movement. The bipartisan legislation, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Jared Moskowitz, would for the first time designating the global Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, clearing the way for US sanctions. Advertisement Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood's member groups operate in virtually all Muslim-majority countries, as well as in the West. Each branch proclaims the same core worldview of Muslim supremacy, but adapts tactics and goals to the local environment — some at times engaging in democratic politics and legitimate activism, others deploying brutal violence. Hamas, the official Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood, is a prime example of this pattern: It has participated in elections and seeks to govern, but also has a 40-year history of unspeakable terror. Advertisement America has historically struggled to find a coherent posture toward this complex movement. It has generally regarded the Brotherhood negatively, at least partially returning the visceral hatred the group spews against the United States. But at times, Washington has seen the group as a tactical ally on the geopolitical chessboard. During the Cold War, many US analysts believed the Brothers' opposition to Communist atheism made them a valid alternative to the Middle East's Soviet-leaning regimes. Advertisement In 2011, when the Brotherhood gained power in various countries after the Arab Spring, President Barack Obama looked at that development with favor — sparking anger in longstanding regional allies. Many American policymakers and State Department aides remain sympathetic to the Brotherhood, and in academia, support for it is all but reflexive. Yet, despite the whitewashing attempts of its many cheerleaders, the Brothers — as the ideological forefathers of today's jihadists — maintain a century-long tradition of anti-Western, anti-American, antisemitic and anti-democratic dogma. Advertisement Tellingly, several of al Qaeda's founders were ex-Brotherhood members — who became disillusioned with the group's only partial embrace of violence. Moreover, several Brotherhood branches and spin-offs have directly engaged in violence, and like Hamas have long been designated as terror groups by the United States. America's challenges with the Brotherhood are not unique. Most European countries actively monitor the group's activities on their territory. In 2014, a British government review concluded that 'the aspects of Muslim Brotherhood ideology and tactics, in this country and overseas, are contrary to our values, our national interests and our national security.' Last month, France released a report making a similar assessment, leading President Emanuel Macron to call for stringent measures against the group. Cruz's bill differs from those introduced in Congress in the past. It does not seek to wholly ban the organization, acknowledging, 'Not all Muslim Brotherhood branches are currently violent.' Rather, it seeks to sanction violent Brotherhood branches around the world — and to create a legal framework for a wider designation in the future. Advertisement The measure is gaining support in Congress, and even if it does not pass, President Donald Trump may choose to move against the Brotherhood in an executive order. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Either way, the United States should take a closer look and a tougher position toward the Brotherhood, both abroad and at home. Internationally, the ambiguous positions of the past must be no more. Instead, US policies should aim to diminish Muslim Brotherhood influence. Advertisement Domestically, law-enforcement agencies should use existing legal tools to go after the web of US-based Brotherhood spin-offs. Whether by designation or not, a tough, clever and coherent Muslim Brotherhood policy would represent a break from decades of half-baked positions — and a step forward in undermining one of America's historical foes. Lorenzo Vidino is the director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University and author of 'The Closed Circle: Joining and Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood in the West.'

Senate Confirms Official to Lead $42.5 Billion Broadband Program
Senate Confirms Official to Lead $42.5 Billion Broadband Program

Bloomberg

time14 hours ago

  • Business
  • Bloomberg

Senate Confirms Official to Lead $42.5 Billion Broadband Program

The US Senate confirmed Arielle Roth to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department branch responsible for administering broadband funding and managing federal spectrum use. The vote on Wednesday was 52-42. Roth comes to the post from the office of Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican head of the Senate Commerce Committee, where she worked as his telecom policy director.

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