AI Policy Newsletter - May 22, 2025

• During President Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week, the Administration announced multiple AI-related partnerships, totaling over $2 trillion in investments. Notably, Nvidia, AMD, Amazon and Qualcomm agreed to send AI chips and related infrastructure to Saudi Arabian state-backed startup Humain. The US and UAE also announced a partnership to build the “largest AI data center outside the U.S” in Abu Dhabi. Critics – including a coalition of Democratic Senators – have warned that the deals pose a national security threat to the United States.

  
  

• On May 13, the Trump Administration rescinded the Biden era AI Diffusion Rule, which was set to go into effect on May 15. The rule would have imposed new restrictions on the exports of US-made AI chips, with countries like China and Russia facing the most stringent restrictions. US Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler stated that the Trump Administration would pursue a “bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries… while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries.”

  
  

• On May 22, the House passed the reconciliation package by a one-vote margin. Among the provisions is a 10-year federal moratorium on enforcing state AI regulations. The measure is backed by tech leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the Consumer Technology Association, but opposed by many consumer advocacy and civil rights organizations. The moratorium faces an uncertain fate in the Senate due to both parliamentary procedure and moderate Republican concerns. Additionally, the House reconciliation package allocates $500 million to the Department of Commerce for modernizing and securing federal IT systems using AI.

  
  

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