President Donald Trump issued an executive order on artificial intelligence requiring a review of “existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation.”
The executive order instructs the executive branch agencies to review all relevant policies, directives, regulations, and actions taken by the Biden administration and identify areas for suspension, revision, or rescission.
Employment-related materials that could come under scrutiny include guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
“President Trump’s AI executive order does not directly impact private-sector employers at this time, but employers should assess their AI use and the impact of AI systems in the workplace upon employees and applicants,” said Bradford J. Kelley, an attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Littler.
We’ve rounded up articles from SHRM to provide more context on the news.
Obstacle to Innovation
On Jan. 20, Trump rescinded former President Joe Biden’s October 2023 executive order on AI, which sought to develop security standards for AI and introduce consumer and worker protections.
The Biden executive order directed the federal government to assess the impact of AI on the workforce, prevent discrimination resulting from the use of AI tools, and support upskilling programs that help workers develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the AI economy.
The directive was criticized by some technology firms and Republicans as hindering AI innovation.
Speedy Response
Biden’s order was issued quickly in the wake of the spread of generative AI (GenAI) and in the absence of any U.S. legislation setting guardrails for AI development.
The executive order contained several measures related to employment, including working toward best practices to address job displacement, creating labor standards regarding workplace discrimination, and regulating data collection. The order sought to accelerate the hiring of AI professionals as part of a talent surge and to streamline the immigration process for highly skilled foreign students and workers so they could add their talents to the U.S. AI workforce.
AI Employment Regulations Make Compliance ‘Very Complicated’
While federal action has mostly been at an awareness-raising and guidance level, state legislatures have begun implementing laws aimed at curbing AI-driven discrimination.
During the SHRM Workplace Law Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C., an expert panel discussed the shifting regulatory landscape around AI in employment and some basic ways to mitigate risk.
The AI Agents Are Coming
AI is rapidly transforming the HR technology market and will penetrate every area of HR, including recruitment, learning and development, employee experience, and day-to-day HR service delivery. The emergence of agentic AI—an evolution from AI-powered chatbots that answer questions to AI agents that take actions based on those exchanges—will lead to it being increasingly integrated across HR systems.
Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace
This SHRM resource can help employers and employees successfully manage GenAI and other AI-powered systems at work.
An organization run by AI is not a futuristic concept. Such technology is already a part of many workplaces and will continue to shape the labor market and HR. Here's how employers and employees can successfully manage generative AI and other AI-powered systems.
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