U.S. President Donald Trump on the 2nd signed an executive order requiring the government to conduct security reviews before corporations release their latest high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The White House said the move is meant to preserve America's AI competitiveness while protecting critical infrastructure and national security systems from cyber threats. The key is to create a framework that allows the government to vet high-performance AI models developed by private corporations in advance.
The executive order is broadly similar to a draft that Trump considered unveiling on the 21st of last month but delayed. The biggest difference is shortening the review period from up to 90 days to 30 days.
Under the order, relevant departments including the Treasury Department, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security will establish classified benchmarking procedures. AI developers will set up a voluntary cooperation framework with the government and check whether the models they are developing are subject to review. The government may access a model for up to 30 days before release to inspect for security vulnerabilities and flaws.
An AI cybersecurity council to be formed will also be tasked with detecting software vulnerabilities at scale and coordinating the rollout of security patches.
The Trump administration stressed that the move differs from the regulatory approach of former President Joe Biden's administration. It said the focus is not on introducing AI licensing or pre-approval, but on building a voluntary cooperation framework between corporations and the government.
According to the New York Times (NYT), Trump had planned to sign the initial draft on the 21st of last month but retracted it at the last minute. That was because concerns were raised that a security review period of up to 90 days was excessively long and could hinder the pace of AI development.
Technology figures including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen agreed on the need for security reviews but argued that U.S. corporations should not be hobbled in AI competition with China. David Sacks, co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), was said to have persuaded Trump to withdraw the draft.
A reexamination then took place led by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and at a closed-door meeting at the White House on the 1st, it was decided to cut the review period to a maximum of 30 days.
As recently as early this year, the Trump administration was reluctant to introduce AI regulations. But after Anthropic unveiled its new AI model "Mythos" in April this year, growing concerns within national security authorities and the financial sector over potential hacking and cyberattacks prompted the administration to set up a security review framework.
Following the announcement of the executive order, the tech industry largely welcomed the move. Major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI expressed support.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman plans to visit the White House on the 3rd as scheduled to discuss follow-up measures with administration officials.