Latest news with #ExecutiveOrder14179
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - A make-or-break moment for the AI economy
As one of its first acts, the Trump administration in January signed Executive Order 14179, removing previous regulatory guardrails for artificial intelligence and placing the responsibility for this transformative technology squarely with the private sector. The private sector needs to embrace this duty, because the rapid development of so-called 'AI agents,' which promise to transform the way consumers travel, shop and even receive medical care, is going to demand cooperative industry action to ensure open and competitive markets. History has shown us that network effects — where the value of a platform grows as more people use it — can lead to significant market concentration. This dynamic can enable a small number of players to establish dominance and lead to high barriers to entry for newcomers. Artificial intelligence is fated to follow this same trend. In fact, we are at a critical juncture where the same dynamics that created digital monopolies in the past are beginning to take hold — only faster, and with broader implications. The next frontier of AI is not just what we see today: large language models or image generators. It is autonomous agents: AI systems acting on our behalf in everyday transactions. These agents will manage our schedules, compare insurance plans, negotiate purchases and more. They promise to make our lives easier by operating behind the scenes to save us time and money, and spare us cognitive load. And their adoption is happening quickly. A recent survey by Cloudera found that 96 percent of IT leaders plan to increase their use of AI agents in the coming year, with nearly half already seeing them as a key competitive advantage. Moreover, Walmart's announcement that it plans to start interfacing with AI shopping agents signals that we are already at the beginning of a structural shift in how decisions are made online. But the benefits of 'agentified' commerce won't materialize in full force unless we take affirmative steps to protect the promise of AI. Without standards to ensure open participation and fair competition, the agent-driven marketplace could become yet another closed system dominated by the few companies that have the resources and infrastructure to scale quickly. Smaller businesses could find themselves locked out. And consumers could find themselves at the mercy of hidden algorithms that aren't working in their best interests. Imagine this near-future scenario: you ask your AI assistant to plan a weekend trip to Napa Valley. It scans dozens of options, compares prices, negotiates availability, and returns with what seems like the best result. But what if it only considers providers that have exclusive deals or undisclosed business relationships with its parent company? What if smaller, independent options never even get a chance to compete? Now imagine this across other scenarios, such as finding a new healthcare provider or renegotiating your internet plan. History has shown that these fears are not speculative. But we've navigated similar challenges before. The internet as we know it runs on mostly open, decentralized standards that allow anyone to build and compete on a level playing field. In hardware, protocols such as USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have enabled interoperability across brands and devices, helping innovation flourish without locking out newcomers. We should bring this same thinking to AI, and how the dynamic ecosystem of different AI tools and systems will interact — both with consumers and with each other. The future of AI-driven commerce demands open standards that ensure not just interoperability between agents but equitable access to marketplaces, so that a startup's offering can be just as discoverable as that of a global enterprise. One way to operationalize this vision is through the creation of a voluntary open AI agent registry. In this system, any business, regardless of size, could register its AI agents using standardized protocols. Consumer-facing AI assistants could query this registry to identify relevant service providers, ensuring that small players are part of the ecosystem from the start — and that agents are who they say they are, not scammers. In the case of travel, for instance, this would allow a locally owned B&B to appear in the same search as a multinational hotel chain. The user's agent could negotiate with both, compare deals, and surface the best option — not the one with the biggest marketing budget, or one that owns the cloud platform on which it is hosted. To make this happen, we need leadership, from both regulators and industry. Standards don't have to come from government mandates. In fact, many of the most successful ones have emerged from coalitions of private-sector leaders, academics and technologists, such as the Financial Data Exchange, which helped define open protocols for sharing consumer financial data securely across banks and fintechs. The benefits of getting this right are hard to overstate. Consumer trust is foundational, not just to AI adoption but to long-term confidence in digital systems that increasingly act on our behalf. For businesses, especially smaller ones, well-defined standards level the playing field and reduce integration hurdles, enabling broader participation in the digital economy. And for the broader ecosystem, it ensures a competitive, innovation-rich environment where value — not gatekeeping — wins. The best markets are free, open and competitive, and that should be true especially when transactions are handled by AI. We don't have to repeat the mistakes of the past. We can build an AI ecosystem that is open, competitive and fair from the start. But that requires intention, collaboration and urgency. e, and that should The AI economy is moving fast. Let's keep it moving in the right direction. Benjamin Wiener is the global head of Cognizant Moment, the digital and customer experience arm of U.S. professional services firm Cognizant. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
A make-or-break moment for the AI economy
As one of its first acts, the Trump administration in January signed Executive Order 14179, removing previous regulatory guardrails for artificial intelligence and placing the responsibility for this transformative technology squarely with the private sector. The private sector needs to embrace this duty, because the rapid development of so-called 'AI agents,' which promise to transform the way consumers travel, shop and even receive medical care, is going to demand cooperative industry action to ensure open and competitive markets. History has shown us that network effects — where the value of a platform grows as more people use it — can lead to significant market concentration. This dynamic can enable a small number of players to establish dominance and lead to high barriers to entry for newcomers. Artificial intelligence is fated to follow this same trend. In fact, we are at a critical juncture where the same dynamics that created digital monopolies in the past are beginning to take hold — only faster, and with broader implications. The next frontier of AI is not just what we see today: large language models or image generators. It is autonomous agents: AI systems acting on our behalf in everyday transactions. These agents will manage our schedules, compare insurance plans, negotiate purchases and more. They promise to make our lives easier by operating behind the scenes to save us time and money, and spare us cognitive load. And their adoption is happening quickly. A recent survey by Cloudera found that 96 percent of IT leaders plan to increase their use of AI agents in the coming year, with nearly half already seeing them as a key competitive advantage. Moreover, Walmart's announcement that it plans to start interfacing with AI shopping agents signals that we are already at the beginning of a structural shift in how decisions are made online. But the benefits of 'agentified' commerce won't materialize in full force unless we take affirmative steps to protect the promise of AI. Without standards to ensure open participation and fair competition, the agent-driven marketplace could become yet another closed system dominated by the few companies that have the resources and infrastructure to scale quickly. Smaller businesses could find themselves locked out. And consumers could find themselves at the mercy of hidden algorithms that aren't working in their best interests. Imagine this near-future scenario: you ask your AI assistant to plan a weekend trip to Napa Valley. It scans dozens of options, compares prices, negotiates availability, and returns with what seems like the best result. But what if it only considers providers that have exclusive deals or undisclosed business relationships with its parent company? What if smaller, independent options never even get a chance to compete? Now imagine this across other scenarios, such as finding a new healthcare provider or renegotiating your internet plan. History has shown that these fears are not speculative. But we've navigated similar challenges before. The internet as we know it runs on mostly open, decentralized standards that allow anyone to build and compete on a level playing field. In hardware, protocols such as USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have enabled interoperability across brands and devices, helping innovation flourish without locking out newcomers. We should bring this same thinking to AI, and how the dynamic ecosystem of different AI tools and systems will interact — both with consumers and with each other. The future of AI-driven commerce demands open standards that ensure not just interoperability between agents but equitable access to marketplaces, so that a startup's offering can be just as discoverable as that of a global enterprise. One way to operationalize this vision is through the creation of a voluntary open AI agent registry. In this system, any business, regardless of size, could register its AI agents using standardized protocols. Consumer-facing AI assistants could query this registry to identify relevant service providers, ensuring that small players are part of the ecosystem from the start — and that agents are who they say they are, not scammers. In the case of travel, for instance, this would allow a locally owned B&B to appear in the same search as a multinational hotel chain. The user's agent could negotiate with both, compare deals, and surface the best option — not the one with the biggest marketing budget, or one that owns the cloud platform on which it is hosted. To make this happen, we need leadership, from both regulators and industry. Standards don't have to come from government mandates. In fact, many of the most successful ones have emerged from coalitions of private-sector leaders, academics and technologists, such as the Financial Data Exchange, which helped define open protocols for sharing consumer financial data securely across banks and fintechs. The benefits of getting this right are hard to overstate. Consumer trust is foundational, not just to AI adoption but to long-term confidence in digital systems that increasingly act on our behalf. For businesses, especially smaller ones, well-defined standards level the playing field and reduce integration hurdles, enabling broader participation in the digital economy. And for the broader ecosystem, it ensures a competitive, innovation-rich environment where value — not gatekeeping — wins. The best markets are free, open and competitive, and that should be true especially when transactions are handled by AI. We don't have to repeat the mistakes of the past. We can build an AI ecosystem that is open, competitive and fair from the start. But that requires intention, collaboration and urgency. e, and that should The AI economy is moving fast. Let's keep it moving in the right direction. Benjamin Wiener is the global head of Cognizant Moment, the digital and customer experience arm of U.S. professional services firm Cognizant.
Forbes
14-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Powerful Nations Are Using Visas To Win The Global AI Talent Race
A U.S. passport with a globe blurred in background. The world's most powerful nations are vying for a dwindling pool of elite AI researchers. They are using expedited visa processes and citizenship fast-tracks to attract the best international talent. This global competition is transforming immigration paperwork into an economic strategy, aiming for technological dominance. While the U.S. has only recently begun mobilizing its immigration system, other nations have been aggressively courting elite AI professionals for years, transforming their immigration systems into powerful recruitment tools. This competition is only intensifying. Research from the Centre for the Governance of AI shows that two-thirds of graduate students in AI-related programs were born outside the United States. The AI Talent Index by LinkedIn further reveals that countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have achieved some of the highest concentrations of AI talent globally, highlighting how strategic national policies can create competitive advantages in the global AI landscape. Canada has emerged as the clear front-runner, turning heads with its lightning-fast two-week processing for AI work permits. But it's not just speed that makes Canada attractive—it's the promise of permanence. The United Kingdom looks to tear down traditional barriers by creating multiple visa options tailored specifically for AI talent, from skilled workers to innovative founders. France and Australia are making equally bold moves, though with different approaches. France is going all-in with a massive €2.1 billion investment in AI development, complementing specialized visa programs with an ambitious plan to train 100,000 AI professionals annually by 2030. Meanwhile, Australia has radically reoriented its immigration system in its 2024-2025 Federal Budget, dedicating 70% of migration slots to skilled workers with particular emphasis on AI expertise, as Konnecting, an Australian recruiting firm, reports. Both countries are backing these commitments with substantial resources for research institutes, corporate initiatives, and talent development programs. What's becoming clear is that these nations have discovered something that even Silicon Valley's financial allure can't match: the promise of belonging. Their streamlined immigration processes, coupled with a long-term commitment to AI development, offer global talent not just a job, but a future. In January 2025, the Trump administration introduced Executive Order 14179, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence," signaling a shift in U.S. strategy for AI talent acquisition. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated its guidance for O-1 visas and EB-1A green cards, clarifying the evidentiary criteria for individuals with extraordinary abilities in emerging technologies like AI. These developments have created new opportunities through the National Interest Waiver program, allowing advanced-degree professionals to bypass traditional labor certification processes when their work serves the national interest. For AI professionals and researchers, this pathway could offer a faster route to permanent residency, though the full impact of recent policy changes remains to be seen. The recently updated International Entrepreneur Rule offers a promising pathway for AI startup founders. Entrepreneurs who own at least 10% of a U.S.-based startup and secure qualifying investments of $311,071 (as of October 2024) or government grants of $124,429 can stay in the United States for up to five years. This "parole" status, while not a traditional visa, allows founders to build their AI ventures with the added benefits of spouse work authorization and international travel flexibility. For AI startups that typically attract substantial early funding, these investment thresholds align well with standard seed rounds, making this program a viable entry point into America's tech ecosystem. However, these changes, while significant, may not be enough to counter the aggressive moves of America's competitors. As other nations continue to streamline their immigration processes and offer more permanent pathways for AI talent, the U.S. needs to consider more comprehensive reforms to maintain its competitive edge. America's traditional advantages, which include world-class universities, cutting-edge research facilities, and unmatched private sector opportunities, are no longer sufficient guarantees of technological dominance. The bureaucratic friction in the U.S. immigration system may prove an obstacle in winning the AI talent war. A glaring example is the Schedule A labor certification list, which has remained largely unchanged for two decades. In a May 2024 letter to the Department of Labor, Google highlighted this stagnation as a significant barrier to hiring AI talent, arguing that the current framework fails to reflect the rapidly evolving needs of the tech industry. This outdated system forces companies to navigate lengthy labor certification processes for roles that clearly face persistent shortages. Securing America's AI future requires moving beyond such outdated frameworks. Visa processing times must match the speed of technological advancement, and immigration pathways need to reflect the current realities of the AI industry. The revamped International Entrepreneur Rule shows promise, but it's just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The global race for AI dominance isn't just about algorithms and computing power. It's about brains. While the United States has long been the top destination for tech talent, its position as the world's innovation leader is no longer guaranteed. The path forward lies in crafting an unbeatable talent strategy that combines Silicon Valley's legendary innovation ecosystem with a modernized immigration system designed for the AI age. This competition extends beyond maintaining technological superiority. At stake is the future of human civilization itself. The nation that attracts and nurtures the best AI minds will lead the next industrial revolution and write the rules for AI development and integration into society. The United States has a proud history of turning immigrants into visionary innovators. From Einstein to Musk, this nation has transformed foreign-born talent into change agents who have redefined what's possible. The AI revolution presents an opportunity to build on this legacy. Nations that offer the most strategic immigration systems will find themselves attracting top AI talent and fundamentally shaping humanity's technological trajectory for decades to come. As AI increasingly defines economic prosperity, national security, and social development, the stakes couldn't be higher—countries that fail to adapt their immigration policies risk surrendering their technological edge in perhaps the most consequential innovation race of our time.
Fox News
14-02-2025
- Business
- Fox News
American AI freedom still under threat from Biden's leftover directives
As Vice President JD Vance leaves Paris after urging Europe to reduce regulations and promote AI innovation, that effort is already in jeopardy. A series of quiet maneuvers by the Biden administration, major technology incumbents and a government-funded nonprofit called the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) threatens to impose sweeping AI regulations in American states — even after President Donald Trump revoked the previous administration's restrictive framework. On January 23, Trump signed Executive Order 14179, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence," replacing Biden's command-and-control approach with a pro-innovation mandate to defend U.S. AI leadership against rivals like China. But remnants of the old policy survive in nonprofits like FPF, which are busy drafting state bills mirroring President Joe Biden's agenda. Public records confirm FPF was obligated nearly $5 million from federal agencies across FY24 and 25 under Biden. Last year, FPF's website touted those grants as supporting the "White House Executive Order on artificial intelligence," FPF since scrubbed the reference — but the federal grant database still links the money to that now-defunct directive. Several states, with sponsors connected to FPF, including Texas, Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado have introduced near-identical AI bills with fuzzy concepts such as "algorithmic discrimination" and "high-risk" systems. These vague rules afford regulators broad discretion, deterring not just startups but also high-growth tech firms that can't divert precious resources to compliance overhead. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, fresh from meetings with Biden, described the former president's AI vision as "the most alarming" he's ever encountered — replete with the notion that a new regulatory regime can and should micromanage cutting-edge technology. Progressive activists have long prepared for this: the left spent years building "safety-ist" NGOs ready to embed themselves in new agencies, believing they alone know how to direct AI "responsibly." The right, by contrast, never groomed regulators to champion market freedom. That imbalance means any new regulatory body would likely be staffed by those eager to expand government power. This pathology of planning reflects the misguided idea that new and evolving systems require centralized oversight. But Hayek's "knowledge problem" reminds us that that no central authority can aggregate and process the dispersed information needed to govern a complex, changing system efficiently. Therefore, sweeping bills loaded with ambiguous mandates open the door to cronyism, helping well-heeled incumbents navigate red tape while smaller innovators are sidelined. Even if a bill exempts certain startups, the compliance drag effectively cements the status quo — technology giants enjoy a legally bulwarked upper hand. In the words of famed University of Chicago economist George Stigler "regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit." Proponents claim these measures address "algorithmic harms," but genuine harms — defamation, fraud, revenge porn — are already illegal. States can easily update criminal codes to tackle issues like synthetic sexual images without creating entire bureaucracies. Lawmakers in places like Texas would do better to heed their own instincts for small government and avoid duplicating heavy-handed Biden-era rules. If these bills continue to proliferate, America risks a Balkanized regulatory minefield in which Big Tech ironically profits most. Instead, we need targeted, minimal interventions — if any at all — rather than broad frameworks crafted under a discredited federal policy. Our global competitiveness in AI and the vitality of our entrepreneurial ecosystem hang in the balance. States must resist the temptation to create new offices for leftist bureaucrats and activists, lest they harass the builders who can deliver a golden age of American innovation. Joe Lonsdale is an entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded Palantir Technologies and the venture firm 8VC. He is the chairman of the University of Austin (UATX) and the Cicero Institute, a nationwide policy group.
