• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

2

Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access

3

Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'

1

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

2

Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access

3

Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
CommentaryAI

President Trump’s A.I. Plan Is Management Consultant Fluff

By
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 12, 2019, 4:24 PM ET
Trump Attends the 2019 National Prayer Breakfast
Trump tweeted a claim that he worked more than other presidents and cited the list of issues he has faced in officePool/Getty Images

This article first appeared in Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the top tech news. To get it delivered daily to your in-box, sign up here.

Donald Trump has discovered artificial intelligence. And he didn’t even have to go to Davos to accomplish this feat.

The president issued a directive Monday, formally the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, that lays out a framework for something having to do with A.I. I say something because after having read the document I’m not altogether clear on what it’s about. (In my diligent primary research I took inspiration from the crafty Alan Murray, who recently read Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” resolution; I recommend his analysis.)

Many have noted there are no dollar figures associated with Trump’s treatise. Less noted is that there’s not much substance to it either.

Here’s a quick synopsis. The idea is that the U.S. already is great at A.I. and needs to stay that way, especially with the Chinese coming on fast. Trump suggests five AI “principles”: 1) AI breakthroughs are good; 2). A.I. should have standards; 3) A.I. training is important; 4) A.I. needs to be a trusted technology; 5) foreign markets should remain open to U.S. A.I. He also offers six “objectives”: 1) government should invest in A.I.; 2) federal data should be available for AI to crunch; 3) barriers to achieving AI should be reduced; 4) someone should develop A.I. standards; 5) workers should be trained to do A.I., including federal workers; 6) the U.S. should have an A.I. “action plan.”

There’s more, including the admonition that government agencies that do R&D should make A.I. a priority and that agencies that fund education should fund it in A.I. It’s all very swampy, including a reference to something called the “President’s Management Agenda and the Cross-Agency Priority Goal: Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset.”

It’s fair to assume a management consultant wrote this stuff. It’s also good validation of what it means to have a businessman in the White House: this president knows how to spread around and re-direct stuff that’s already in progress or called something else, slap a buzzword on it, and call it progress. All that’s left to produce is a “magic quadrant” picture to illustrate how great this all is.

It’s not even clear to me the U.S. needs an A.I. policy. Standards and education and data sharing are things government agencies can do without an executive order—and that industry can do too. Presidents who are serious about a national objective do things like create federal agencies, like what became DARPA, an Eisenhower-era confection that led to the invention of the Internet.

Perhaps Trump’s “action plan” will lead to something similar.

About the Author
By Adam Lashinsky
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

ravi
CommentaryWeather and forecasting
I spent 8 years flood-proofing a city. Capital markets are running out of time to take El Niño seriously
By Ravi S. BhallaJune 13, 2026
16 hours ago
herrin
CommentaryInfrastructure
America just committed $1.2 trillion to fix its infrastructure. We’re still flying blind
By Gregg HerrinJune 13, 2026
18 hours ago
cyber
Commentarycyber
Accenture cyber leads: why hiring more people won’t solve the cybersecurity talent gap
By Harpreet Sidhu and Vikram DesaiJune 13, 2026
19 hours ago
t
CommentaryHospitality
AI is making promises your brand never made. Hotels are paying the price
By Teresa MackintoshJune 13, 2026
19 hours ago
axel
CommentaryEntrepreneurship
Our budgeted $180 million year ended in the red after the Ukraine war. Here’s how we survived
By Axel SöderbergJune 13, 2026
22 hours ago
ss
CommentaryWorld Cup
‘Soccernomics’ co-author: FIFA’s ticket strategy isn’t price discovery, it’s a wealth filter
By Stefan Szymanski and The ConversationJune 12, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Sydney LakeJune 13, 2026
19 hours ago
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
AI
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
By Jeremy KahnJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
Startups & Venture
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
19 hours ago
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
C-Suite
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
By Sasha RogelbergJune 13, 2026
21 hours ago
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
Energy
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
By Jordan BlumJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
5 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.