Trump signs scaled-back AI executive order after tech industry pushback on oversight timeline

Trump signs narrower executive order on AI oversight after industry objections

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday designed to give the government a chance to review powerful AI models before they are released. The order asks certain AI companies to voluntarily submit their new models to the government for testing or evaluation 30 days before releasing the products to the public. A previous draft of the order had called for a voluntary review up to 90 days in advance, though AI industry insiders had pushed for something closer to a two-week window. Trump had been slated to sign the more demanding version of the order in late May, but delayed after industry pushback, including from venture capitalist and former White House AI czar David Sacks. The president said at the time that he didn't want to do anything to get in AI firms' way of leading against China. "Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models," reads the order, published Tuesday. Trump had planned to sign the EO with a bevy of Silicon Valley's top CEOs in attendance, but ended up signing the current version privately. In addition to the voluntary governmental AI model review, the EO directs the Department of Justice to treat crimes like AI-assisted hacking and unauthorized access as a high-priority enforcement area. This isn't the president's first EO on AI. Last December, Trump signed an order directing the development of "one rulebook," or a national AI policy framework, intended to preempt state AI laws.

Trump signs AI executive order asking companies to give government early access to models

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order asking companies to provide artificial intelligence models to the federal government to assess their capabilities ahead of a full release. Tech companies will comply with the order voluntarily. It asks them to participate in a benchmarking process to assess AI models' cybersecurity capabilities, and it allows the government to help select "trusted partners" that will receive early access to the models. "Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models," the order said. Trump signed the order in private, just weeks after he postponed a signing ceremony with prominent tech CEOs because he "didn't like certain aspects of it," he told reporters at the time. The order released on Tuesday is vague on specifics.

Trump signs scaled-back AI cybersecurity order - Engadget

The federal government will only have 30 days at best to review new models. On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a framework designed to give the federal government the capability to evaluate AI models. The order tasks the Office of the National Cyber Director, which is responsible for advising the president on cybersecurity matters, with developing a process that would allow the US to share information about software vulnerabilities identified by AI systems like Claude Mythos with operators of critical infrastructure, including banks, local utilities and hospitals, before those models are made publicly available. Trump was originally expected to announce the order on May 21, but according to Axios the White House postponed the signing ceremony following pressure from tech industry insiders. The president later told reporters he "didn't like certain aspects" of the original order. According to Politico, Trump took part in small, high-level White House meeting where he and his advisors agreed on a new scaled-back order. The new directive, signed in a private ceremony, asks some AI companies with sharing their most powerful models for voluntary government review 30 days before making them available to the public. An earlier draft had called for giving the government as much as 90 days to review a model, with some industry officials reportedly pushing for that period be shortened to as little as 14 days before today's announcement. Prior to the announcement, Engadget spoke to the Center for Democracy and Technology. "I think the idea of testing, particularly for critical infrastructure providers, to be able to identify vulnerabilities and patch them before the capabilities become widely available, there's a lot of sense to that," Samir Jain, the organization's vice-president of policy, told Engadget. Although he had not seen the final executive order, Jain called the order "opaque" at the time, noting it doesn't give the public much visibility into the benchmarking process. "We don't want a situation in which any administration can exercise arbitrary power over whether, when and how models are released, particularly when they could use security as a pretense to block or handicap a model for political or ideological reasons that aren't related," he said. "An opaque procedure allows for that possibility." That Trump has decided, after his earlier to misgivings, to regulate the AI industry in some form is a departure. In his AI Action Plan from last summer, the White House outlined a policy vision that put few guardrails on OpenAI and others. In so far as the president sought to regulate the industry, he did so only on ideological grounds, issuing an order that limited the federal government from procuring "woke" AI systems that "manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI." Trump has also sought to prevent states like Colorado and New York from passing their own AI restrictions, going so far as to order the creation of AI litigation task force inside of the Department of Justice to challenge state laws deemed "onerous" by the president. "To the extent there's been regulation, it's been more toward ideological goals. It's fair to say the Trump administration has been quite laissez-faire in terms of the risks and potential harms associated with AI," said Jain. "In that sense, the executive order is a change from the perspective the administration has realized that AI poses real security risks and the government needs to act to mitigate or address those risks."

Trump signs an executive order to vet top AI models for national security risks

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on artificial intelligence Tuesday, less than two weeks after postponing a White House ceremony over his concerns that a similar policy could dull America's edge on AI technology. The order establishes a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. The government will be able to work with trusted partners "that will have early access to covered frontier models to promote secure innovation and strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure," the order says. It was not immediately clear to what extent the order differed from the one he declined to sign on May 21. Trump canceled an Oval Office event with tech industry executives last month because he did not like what he saw in the earlier version of the order's text. "We're leading China, we're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead," Trump told reporters at the time. That directive was characterized as a voluntary collaboration with participating U.S.-based tech companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.

Trump Signs Executive Order Granting Oversight of A.I. Models

President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that asked technology companies to give the government oversight of new artificial intelligence models before releasing them to the public, a shift for an administration that had promoted a hands-off approach to the powerful technology. The order followed months of debate in the Trump administration over how to handle A.I. and its effects on cybersecurity and national security. Last month, Mr. Trump scrapped an executive order on A.I. -- which would have created a 14-to-90 day window in which the government would review new A.I. models before they were released -- just hours before he was set to sign it. Mr. Trump's new executive order formally shifts the White House from its anything-goes approach with A.I. companies, which the president and his cabinet had said could help advance the United States in a technological race against China, to a more hands-on stance. The new order asks tech companies to give the government a shorter 30-day window for their new A.I. models to be reviewed before they are publicly released. It also asks the ⁠Treasury Secretary to form an A.I. "cybersecurity clearinghouse," which would review security vulnerabilities discovered by A.I. models. "Advanced A.I. capabilities make our nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies," the order said. This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.

Trump signs order designed to give government early look at powerful AI models

From left, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company chief executive C.C. Wei, President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House adviser David Sacks in the Oval Office last year. (Annabelle Gordon/For The Washington Post) President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that would provide the government with an early look at powerful new artificial intelligence models, giving officials a chance to brace the economy for security risks. Trump had been expected to sign an order on the issue last month but reversed course following last-minute lobbying by tech industry executives. The order the president signed Tuesday is largely the same as an earlier draft obtained by The Washington Post, but it narrows the government's preview to up to 30 days rather than 90 days. Participation in the system by artificial intelligence companies would be voluntary, according to the order, but leading firms are expected to take part. The order comes after Anthropic, the maker of chatbot Claude, developed a model called Mythos that has been shown to be effective at finding security weaknesses in computer code and hacking into networks. The company declined to release the model to the public, inviting a small group of partners to test out its capabilities and fix their systems. On Tuesday, Anthropic said it had invited 150 more organizations to join the program, which it calls Glasswing. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Trump signs executive order seeking early access to new AI releases

Under new rules, tech companies will be asked to share AI models with government for review before public release Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a voluntary framework for the federal government to vet powerful new AI models before they are released. Tuesday's highly anticipated order represents an attempt by the president to tighten his grip on cybersecurity and national security threats posed by AI, tacking against his earlier deregulatory stance. Under the new rules, tech companies would be asked to share their AI models with the government for a voluntary review, up to 30 days before a public release. The Trump administration says doing so will allow them to improve national security, particularly with regards to cybersecurity. The executive order stops short of imposing mandatory review requirements on tech companies building AI models, a rumored feature of earlier versions of the executive order. Some of Trump's more hardline Maga supporters had been pushing him for a stricter process, while tech industry supporters advocated for keeping the reins loose. Still, the executive order is yet another sign that Trump is moving away from his initial low-regulation approach to AI. One of his first actions as president was to revoke a Biden-era executive order that established standards for safely developing AI. The new guardrails come amid rising fears that the latest AI models can be dangerous, especially in the wrong hands. Anthropic's Mythos, a model with advanced cybersecurity capabilities, has raised concerns among AI safety experts, governments and tech companies, for its ability to exploit vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale in widely used software. Last month, the Trump administration struck a deal with Microsoft, Google DeepMind and xAI to review early models of their new AI models before they are released. (The federal government recently removed details of that agreement from its website, although it's unclear why.) The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US Department of Commerce, already has similar deals with OpenAI and Anthropic. The federal government says this kind of information sharing is standard practice and important for national security, although some free speech advocates have warned that too much government control could lead to censorship. The National Security Agency and the Department of Defense will help determine which AI models need government scrutiny, and the treasury department will play a key role in finding vulnerabilities in AI models. The Trump administration also directed the government to hire more cybersecurity and AI professionals, and ensure there are stronger cybersecurity systems at key infrastructure, like hospitals and banks. Trump announced another AI-focused executive order in December aimed at preventing states from regulating AI, which created a federal taskforce to challenge states' AI laws.

Trump quietly signs new AI executive order

Why it matters: The new order lets the White House kick the can down the road while they consider new rules for cutting-edge AI models and what to do about AI's advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Driving the news: The surprise move comes more than a week after Trump cancelled the release of another version of the order with stricter requirements, saying it could hurt American competitiveness. What they're saying: "Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies (agencies), and components," the executive order states. * "As these capabilities evolve, my Administration will continue to work closely with industry to ensure that the best and most secure technology is deployed rapidly to confront any and all threats to our country." What's inside: Per the executive order, national security agencies will be required to bolster cybersecurity abilities and create a "cybersecurity clearinghouse." * Within 60 days, the Treasury Department, the National Security Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and White House officials must "develop a classified benchmarking process to assess advanced cyber capabilities of AI models and decide when a model should be treated as a "covered frontier model." The intrigue: Former White House AI czar and current adviser David Sacks and National Economic Council deputy director Ryan Baasch pushed for language prohibiting the creation of mandatory government licensing, according to a source familiar. * "Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models." * Sacks has continued to play an influential role from his new perch outside the White House. The abrupt cancellation of the earlier executive order occurred after his involvement, though the president himself was also not keen on it. * White House staff, Sacks and Trump discussed the executive order Monday, according to sources familiar. Other tech industry sources had told Axios negotiations were ongoing as of Tuesday morning. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

Trump signs order seeking early access to powerful AI models before their release

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on April 30.Alex Brandon / AP President Donald Trump signed a landmark executive order targeting increasingly powerful AI systems Tuesday morning. The order, signed in private, directs various federal groups to shore up the nation's cybersecurity defenses for critical infrastructure and sets in motion a mechanism for the federal government to test and vet the most powerful AI systems for safety issues before they are deployed. The testing would rely on voluntary collaboration from America's leading AI companies, like Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. "Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies," the executive order says. The order states the Trump administration will "work closely with industry to ensure that the best and most secure technology is deployed rapidly to confront any and all threats to our country." The executive order was originally scheduled to be signed in late May, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The White House invited tech CEOs to attend the signing ceremony and held a press briefing with senior officials on the morning of the planned announcement. However, President Donald Trump pulled the order at the last minute, later telling reporters that the order could have hindered American companies' competitiveness with Chinese companies. The executive order has been in development for months. In April, AI company Anthropic's new Mythos Preview model sent shockwaves through Washington with its superhuman ability to find critical and severe vulnerabilities in the world's most-used operating systems. Senior administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance, have become increasingly invested in governing AI's spread and limiting threats to America's security and economy.

Trump signs AI executive order to give government early look at new models

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Washington -- President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order meant to enhance artificial security and innovation by, among other things, establishing a program for AI companies to voluntarily share powerful new models with the government before they are released to the public. He delayed signing a version of the AI order nearly two weeks ago because he was concerned it would get "in the way" of the United States leading China and other competitors in the AI space. The executive order the president ultimately signed on Tuesday emphasizes that the federal government doesn't want to stifle innovation: "The United States continues to lead the world in Artificial Intelligence (AI) because of the enormous talent and innovation of our AI industry, and because we refuse to stifle this innovation with overly burdensome regulation." The order aims to both use AI to sure up the nation's federal cybersecurity systems for the use of AI and using the technology; develop a classified benchmarking process to identify "frontier" models for AI, or systems that are at the forefront of the field; and work with companies willing to voluntarily give the federal government access to such frontier models for up to 30 days before release. The ability of frontier models to identify long-overlooked software vulnerabilities in crucial systems has raised concerns that they could be used for nefarious purposes. Anthropic, one of the leading AI labs, announced in April that it would be providing its new model, Mythos, to select partners to allow them to harden their defenses against cyberattacks before the technology is available more broadly. The president's executive order emphasizes the voluntary nature of any AI company collaboration with the federal government, and that it doesn't prohibit AI innovators from advancing their technology. "Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models," the order says. On cybersecurity concerns, the executive order calls on the homeland security secretary to establish and expand federal cybersecurity programs that enhance AI defensive tools. It also calls on the treasury secretary, defense secretary, director of the National Security Agency and homeland security secretary, working with AI operators, to set up an AI cybersecurity clearance house to look for software vulnerabilities. The White House never released the original draft the president was previously expected to sign. But Mr. Trump offered an explanation for why he didn't sign it. "Because I didn't like certain aspects of it, I postponed it," Mr. Trump said at the time. "I think it gets in the way of, you know, we're leading China, we're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead."

Trump signs order allowing AI companies to give government access to models before release

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to enable leading AI developers to voluntarily submit their most capable models for government cybersecurity tests before releasing them to the public. The order was triggered by concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model, which the company refused to release due to its ability to expose vulnerabilities in computer systems. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday creating a voluntary framework under which AI developers will share advanced models with the government before public release. The central provision allows companies such as OpenAI, Google or Anthropic to give the government access to their most powerful models for up to 30 days before planned release. The order was triggered by concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model, which the AI startup has refused to release publicly due to its ability to expose vulnerabilities in computer systems - including those of banks, governments and hospitals. The 30-day window represents a compromise: the original draft that leaked to US media called for up to 90 days of pre-release government access, while tech companies had pushed to cut that figure to just 14 days. The signing comes after a turbulent few weeks in which the White House appeared close to unveiling the measure, only to pull back abruptly. According to Politico and other media, David Sacks, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist who served as Trump's AI and crypto czar, called the president to warn that the measure would slow innovation and hurt the United States in its AI race with China - blindsiding White House staff who believed Sacks supported the order. Sacks wrote on X last week that "unnecessary regulation is the biggest threat to innovation in America", adding that winning the AI race required clearing "bureaucratic hurdles" from state legislatures and Washington politicians. The order also instructs Treasury, the National Security Agency and the CISA agency to form an "AI cybersecurity clearinghouse" in voluntary collaboration with industry and critical infrastructure operators to coordinate scanning for software vulnerabilities and prioritize patches. Trump scrapped a Biden-era AI oversight order on his first day back in the White House. Biden's 2023 order required AI companies to share safety test results with the government and leaned heavily on voluntary commitments - already a light-touch approach that fell short of what many experts had called for. By contrast, the European Union's AI Act - which entered into force in 2024 - sets binding rules for high-risk AI systems, including mandatory transparency requirements and, for the most powerful models, obligations around safety testing and incident reporting.

Trump Signed Order to Promote Advanced AI Innovation and Security, White House Says

June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. ⁠President ⁠Donald Trump ⁠signed an AI-related executive order aimed at promoting advanced artificial intelligence innovation and security, the White ⁠House ⁠said on Tuesday. Trump's order directs federal agencies to develop cybersecurity standards for advanced AI models, according to the text of the ⁠order released ⁠by the White ⁠House. It also directs the agencies to emphasize bolstering ⁠cyber defense across government. The order asks the U.S. Treasury secretary to ⁠form an AI "cybersecurity clearinghouse, in voluntary collaboration with ⁠the AI industry and operators of critical infrastructure, that coordinates and deconflicts scanning for software vulnerabilities, discovers and validates such vulnerabilities, and coordinates and prioritizes ⁠remediation and distribution of vulnerability patches," the order reads. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen, Bhargav Acharya and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis)

Trump signs scaled-back AI executive order

President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to shore up their defenses against more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models and develop a voluntary testing framework. The new order appears to be a scaled-back version of the order Trump initially intended to sign recently. The president backed out just hours before the planned signing last month after saying he "didn't like certain aspects of it." Signed privately, the order states AI labs can provide the government with their models for a period of up to 30 days before they plan to release them publicly. It notably reduced the 90-day period for government testing, a point of contention for the draft. The industry expressed concerns that AI development works on a much faster timeline and such a period could hamper competition with other labs. Both versions of the order included a provision underscoring that the process is entirely voluntary for AI firms. "Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the creation of a mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirement for the development, publication, release, or distribution of new AI models, including frontier models," the order says.

Trump signs executive order on AI innovation and security By Investing.com

Investing.com -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday focused on advancing artificial intelligence innovation and security, the White House announced. The order instructs federal agencies to create cybersecurity standards for advanced AI models, according to the text released by the White House. It also directs agencies to strengthen cyber defense systems across government operations. Under the order, the Treasury secretary will establish an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse. This entity will work on a voluntary basis with the AI industry and critical infrastructure operators to coordinate scanning for software vulnerabilities, discover and validate such vulnerabilities, and coordinate the distribution of vulnerability patches. The clearinghouse will also prioritize remediation efforts related to software vulnerabilities identified through this process. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.