On Tuesday President Donald Trump issued an executive order that seeks to give the U.S. government more oversight of “frontier” artificial intelligence models—signaling a fundamental shift from the administration’s previous hands-off approach to the technology.
The order asks technology companies to voluntarily share new AI models with the government for up to 30 days before releasing the models more widely. It also asks companies to collaborate with the administration to “select trusted partners” that will gain early access to the models to “promote secure innovation and strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.”
The order also directs leadership of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as well as the Office of the National Cyber Director, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to develop an “AI cybersecurity clearinghouse,” which will collaborate with the tech industry and infrastructure operators such as power companies and hospital administrators to identify and fix AI software vulnerabilities.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The order’s broad call to strengthen U.S. resilience to cyberthreats and safeguard against potential rogue AI actors represents a major shift in the Trump administration’s approach, which had been more laissez-faire compared with the previous Biden administration’s push to make the AI industry more accountable and more geared toward safety, also on a voluntary basis. It’s also remarkable, given that Trump had just recently backed away from a previously proposed executive order on AI safety. That order was inspired in part by the release of Anthropic’s model Mythos, which the company itself said was too dangerous to be publicly released.
Editor’s Note (6/2/26): This is a developing story and may be updated.