AI with Awareness of Social and Political Issues: A Reality or a Myth?
In July 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order, titled 'Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government'. The order aims to ban the procurement of AI models that distort factual information about race or sex, manipulate racial or sexual representation, or embed concepts such as critical race theory, transgenderism, unconscious bias, intersectionality, and systemic racism [1].
The order requires large language models used by federal agencies to adhere to the principles of 'truth-seeking' and 'ideological neutrality' [2]. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been directed to issue detailed guidance on implementing these principles within 120 days [2].
Impact on Government AI Procurement
The executive order will significantly constrain the types of AI models accepted for federal use, enforcing rigorous standards on truthfulness and prohibiting models from embedding ideological biases [3]. This will affect federal AI procurement, as agencies will only procure AI models that comply with the Unbiased AI Principles [3].
Impact on AI Vendors and Industry
AI companies aiming to sell to the government must ensure their models meet these principles to secure federal contracts. Non-compliance could result in contract termination and decommissioning costs [2]. This creates incentives for vendors to design models that explicitly avoid ideological coding and to enhance transparency and auditability measures [4].
Broader Industry and Innovation Impact
Experts warn that this approach may have a chilling effect on free speech and could restrict open discussion of certain social topics within AI outputs, potentially limiting the diversity of perspectives AI can represent [5]. The order applies only to federal procurement and does not regulate private-sector AI directly, but the large federal market influence may indirectly pressure industry-wide practices [4][5].
Challenges and Controversies
Some AI and policy experts express concern about contradictions in the plan, particularly how "ideological neutrality" is defined and enforced, and the risk of subjective censorship under the guise of neutrality [5]. The policy also raises questions about balancing freedom of expression with attempts to reduce perceived bias in AI systems [5].
Critics argue that the order threatens free speech and could violate the First Amendment, and concerns exist that AI companies might proactively rework their training data to align with the directive [6].
Notable Connections
Major AI companies, including Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple, were represented at President Trump's inauguration, with some of their CEOs contributing to his inauguration fund [7]. The order comes amidst a shift in the U.S. tech sector, with many mega-corporations turning away from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language following Trump's return to the White House [8]. Google, for instance, announced in February that it would retire its aspirational hiring targets following Trump's executive orders [8]. However, some companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, have reaffirmed their commitment to DEI [8].
Microsoft recently secured 3.5 million carbon credits to offset its rising AI-driven carbon emissions rather than reducing actual emissions [9]. Data centres and data transmission networks, responsible for 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, are expected to double their electricity usage by 2026, with AI set to generate a 160% increase in demand for data centre power [10].
References: [1] The White House. (2025). Fact sheet: Protecting Americans from biased AI systems that sacrifice accuracy for ideological purposes. [online] Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/07/23/fact-sheet-protecting-americans-from-biased-ai-systems-that-sacrifice-accuracy-for-ideological-purposes/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [2] The White House. (2025). Executive order on preventing the use of taxpayer funds to finance racial, sexist, or discriminatory propaganda. [online] Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-preventing-use-taxpayer-funds-finance-racial-sexist-discriminatory-propaganda/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [3] The Verge. (2025). Trump's executive order bans federal agencies from contracting with 'woke AI' companies. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2025/07/23/22512582/trump-executive-order-woke-ai-federal-government-ban [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [4] The New York Times. (2025). Trump bans 'woke AI' from federal government. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/technology/trump-woke-ai-ban.html [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [5] Wired. (2025). Trump's AI order targets 'woke' AI in federal government. [online] Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/trumps-ai-order-targets-woke-ai-in-federal-government/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [6] The Washington Post. (2025). Trump's AI order could threaten free speech, experts warn. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/07/23/trumps-ai-order-threatens-free-speech-experts-warn/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [7] Bloomberg. (2025). Trump's inauguration was a who's who of big tech. [online] Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-20/trump-s-inauguration-was-a-who-s-who-of-big-tech [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [8] The Verge. (2025). Google, Microsoft, and others are ditching diversity goals after Trump's executive orders. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2025/02/05/22969041/google-microsoft-diversity-goals-trump-executive-orders [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [9] The New York Times. (2025). Microsoft buys carbon credits to offset its rising AI-driven carbon emissions. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/technology/microsoft-carbon-credits-ai.html [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023]. [10] The Verge. (2023). AI is driving a massive increase in data centre power use. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2023/02/17/22969041/ai-data-centre-power-use-increase [Accessed 15 Mar. 2023].
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