President Donald Trump’s latest executive order demands ideological neutrality from AI chatbots, sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley. On Jan. 22, 2025, he signed three AI-focused directives, one targeting “woke” AI in federal use. This bold move aims to reshape how tech giants develop artificial intelligence.
Newsmax reported that Trump’s order requires tech companies to prove their AI systems, like Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot, lack partisan bias to secure federal contracts.
It’s a strategic push to counter China’s AI dominance while embedding American values into technology. The directive, still under review before becoming procurement policy, has sparked heated debate.
“It will have massive influence in the industry right now,” said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, senior director at The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology.
She claims some AI discriminates, but her vision of “inclusive” tech smells like the same progressive agenda Trump’s order seeks to dismantle. Neutrality, not ideology, should guide innovation.
The anti-woke order zeroes in on large language models trained on internet data, which often reflect online biases from sources like Wikipedia or social media.
Trump’s directive criticizes tech firms for embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts—think critical race theory or intersectionality—into AI systems. It’s a call for truth over agenda-driven programming.
Tech companies now face pressure to disclose internal policies guiding chatbot behavior to prove neutrality. “This will be extremely difficult for tech companies to comply with,” said Jim Secreto, former deputy chief of staff to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Secreto’s whining misses the point: transparency ensures fairness, not censorship.
Unlike China’s heavy-handed AI oversight, which audits models and bans content like the Tiananmen Square crackdown, Trump’s approach avoids specific content filters.
“It doesn’t even prohibit an ideological agenda,” said Neil Chilson, former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission. Chilson’s right—Trump’s order is about accountability, not state control.
The order uses federal contracts as leverage, pushing companies to self-censor to maintain government business. Secreto calls it a “softer but still coercive route.” Coercive? It’s just the free market holding tech giants accountable for once.
AI tools are already widespread in federal agencies, with over 270 use cases in the Health and Human Services agency alone, including ChatGPT and Gemini for report summaries. Trump’s directive ensures these tools serve the public, not progressive ideals. It’s a pragmatic move to protect taxpayer dollars.
The order’s “truth-seeking” AI push echoes Elon Musk’s mission for xAI’s Grok chatbot. Musk’s influence is clear, but the real credit goes to conservative strategist Chris Rufo, who helped draft the order. Rufo’s work defining “woke” ensures the government won’t fund ideologically tainted tech.
“When they asked me how to define ‘woke,’ I said there’s only one person to call: Chris Rufo,” wrote David Sacks on X. Rufo also identified DEI ideologies baked into AI systems, exposing how tech firms prioritize politics over performance. His clarity cuts through Silicon Valley’s fog of virtue signaling.
Google’s AI image tool, launched in February 2024, is a prime example of overreach, producing historically inaccurate images like Black or Asian Founding Fathers. The company scrambled to fix it after public backlash. This fiasco proves why Trump’s order is necessary—tech giants can’t be trusted to self-regulate.
“That’s how you get Black George Washington at Google,” said venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, a Trump adviser, on a December 2024 podcast. He blames “squads” of employees enforcing ideological overrides. Andreessen’s bluntness exposes the absurdity of prioritizing diversity over historical accuracy.
The order doesn’t ban DEI outright but demands tech firms abandon top-down efforts to embed it in AI. This push for neutrality aligns with American values of fairness and reason, not China’s state-driven model. It’s a wake-up call for companies chasing ideology over innovation.
Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists, many of whom backed Trump’s 2024 campaign, have discussed these ideas for over a year. Their influence underscores a growing frustration with Big Tech’s left-leaning bias. The order channels that energy into policy that prioritizes truth.
Trump’s directive isn’t about censorship—it’s about ensuring AI serves the public, not a narrow agenda. While critics cry foul, the order’s focus on transparency and neutrality could restore trust in technology. It’s a bold step toward an AI future grounded in reality, not ideology.
