How big tech got its way on Trump’s AI executive order

The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power

Only hours before https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new https://www.theguardian.com/technology/artificialintelligenceai">artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/may/22/donald-trump-ai-china-iran-war-powers-hormuz-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-6a102b318f089865cf41acd6#block-6a102b318f089865cf41acd6">backed out.

Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.

During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal.