Sophia Cai

President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to scrap an AI executive order on May 21 has exposed a rift within the White House on how to regulate the emerging technology. There are three main camps in the West Wing, per two senior White House officials. The first, which includes former AI czar David Sacks, favors less regulation to help the industry compete against China.

Apparently, the Trump administration wants some of the world’s largest technology companies to publicly commit to a new compact governing the rapid expansion of AI data centers. A draft of the compact lays out commitments designed to ensure energy-hungry data centers do not raise household electricity prices, strain water supplies, or undermine grid reliability, and that the companies driving demand also carry the cost of building new infrastructure. The proposed pact, which is not final and could be subject to change, is framed as a voluntary agreement between President Donald Trump and ma