Tags: Trump administration

Google, Microsoft and Elon Musk's xAI have signed agreements that let the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation evaluate their next‑generation artificial‑intelligence systems before they are released publicly. The deals, announced a day after reports that the Trump administration was weighing tighter AI oversight, call for the companies to provide models with reduced or disabled safeguards so federal analysts can probe national‑security risks. CAISI director Chris Fall said the collaborations will expand the government’s ability to measure frontier AI and protect U.S. interests. Read more

Anthropic’s new AI‑driven security tool, Mythos Preview, is being tested by several U.S. federal agencies, but the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reportedly lacks access. While the Commerce Department and the National Security Agency are evaluating the model, CISA’s exclusion comes amid broader budget cuts and staffing limits imposed by the Trump administration, prompting questions about the nation’s readiness to defend critical infrastructure. Read more

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior officials from the Trump administration this week, signaling a possible thaw in relations after the Pentagon labeled the AI firm a supply‑chain risk. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles joined the discussion, which the White House described as productive. While the Pentagon continues to challenge Anthropic’s models for military use, other agencies appear eager to explore the company’s technology for cybersecurity, AI safety and maintaining America’s lead in the AI race. Read more

A three‑judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Wednesday that Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI model, must remain designated as a supply‑chain risk for the Pentagon. The decision contradicts a recent San Francisco district court order that had lifted the label, leaving the military’s access to Anthropic’s tools in limbo as the two cases proceed toward final judgments. Read more

The Trump administration unveiled a legislative framework aimed at creating a single, nationwide AI policy. The plan would centralize authority in Washington, preempting state AI regulations while emphasizing a light‑touch, innovation‑focused approach. It assigns greater responsibility for child safety to parents, calls on Congress to require platforms to add safeguards against sexual exploitation, and seeks to shield developers from state liability. Critics argue the proposal limits state experimentation and lacks clear enforcement mechanisms, while industry leaders praise the promise of a uniform national standard for startups. Read more

The Department of Defense has argued that allowing Anthropic continued access to its warfighting infrastructure would introduce an unacceptable risk to supply chains and national security. In a court filing responding to Anthropic's lawsuit over a supply‑chain risk designation, the Pentagon cited concerns that the company could disable or alter its AI models during operations if corporate “red lines” were crossed. The filing notes that the agency’s secretary, Pete Hegseth, included a provision in AI contracts permitting use for any lawful purpose, which Anthropic refused, prompting the department to label the partnership unsafe. Read more

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company will revise its contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to explicitly forbid the use of its artificial‑intelligence system for mass surveillance of Americans. In an internal memo shared on X, Altman detailed new language tying the restriction to the Fourth Amendment and other applicable laws, and said he would prefer jail over complying with an unlawful order. The move follows a broader government debate over AI guardrails, pressure on rival Anthropic to drop safeguards, and a recent surge in Anthropic’s popularity after the policy shift. Read more

The Trump administration halted all federal use of Anthropic's artificial‑intelligence technology after the company declined to allow its tools to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoked a national‑security law to blacklist Anthropic, jeopardizing a contract worth up to $200 million and potentially barring the firm from future defense work. The move has sparked debate over AI safety commitments, industry self‑regulation, and the need for binding government oversight. Read more

President Donald Trump instructed U.S. federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's Claude artificial‑intelligence system after the company refused to let the Department of Defense apply the technology for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The president’s post on Truth Social called Anthropic a "radical left, woke company" and set a six‑month phase‑out for agencies. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the firm could not in good conscience remove contract clauses that prohibit use of Claude in autonomous weapons or surveillance. The clash highlights growing tension between government demands and AI firms’ safety commitments. Read more

The U.S. Department of Commerce has authorized Nvidia to ship its H200 artificial‑intelligence chips to approved Chinese customers. The approval allows the company to sell chips that are roughly 18 months old, with the United States taking a 25% share of the sales. The decision comes amid bipartisan legislative efforts to block advanced AI chip exports and follows a series of policy shifts on U.S. chip sales to China. Lawmakers have introduced the Secure and Feasible Exports (SAFE) Chips Act, which would prohibit such exports for up to 30 months. Read more

The Trump administration, after previously targeting state-level artificial intelligence regulations, has put on hold a draft executive order that would have created an AI Litigation Task Force to contest state AI laws. The move follows a prior effort to embed a ten‑year ban on state AI regulation in legislation that was later removed by the Senate. The proposed order also threatened to withhold federal broadband funding from states with contested AI rules. Reuters reports the order is now stalled, citing likely opposition from both political parties and industry stakeholders. Read more

The Federal Trade Commission has deleted a series of blog posts and guidance documents about artificial intelligence that were published while Lina Khan served as chair. The removals include pieces on open‑weight models, consumer concerns about AI, and the agency’s own enforcement actions. Critics say the deletions raise transparency and record‑keeping concerns, while the FTC has declined to comment. The action reflects a broader shift in the agency’s approach under the Trump administration. Read more

OpenAI released details of an internal stress‑test aimed at measuring political bias in its chatbot models. The test, conducted on 100 topics with prompts ranging from liberal to conservative and charged to neutral, compared four models—including the newer GPT‑5 instant and GPT‑5 thinking—to earlier versions such as GPT‑4o and OpenAI o3. Results show the GPT‑5 models reduced bias scores by about 30 percent and handled charged prompts with greater objectivity, though moderate bias still appears in some liberal‑charged queries. The company says bias now occurs infrequently and at low severity, while noting ongoing political pressures on AI developers. Read more

OpenAI announced plans to add five new data centers across the United States under its Stargate program, partnering with Oracle and SoftBank. The expansion will bring total U.S. capacity close to seven gigawatts and includes sites in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and a yet‑to‑be‑named Midwest location. Oracle will operate the flagship Abilene facility, while SoftBank’s SB Energy backs two of the new sites. The project is tied to broader U.S. AI competitiveness goals, with expectations of thousands of jobs and additional collaborations with Nvidia and international partners. Read more

White House officials have expressed frustration with Anthropic’s policy that bars the use of its Claude models for domestic surveillance. The restriction is creating roadblocks for federal contractors working with agencies such as the FBI and Secret Service. Anthropic’s models are among the few AI systems cleared for top‑secret environments through Amazon Web Services’ GovCloud, and the company has a nominal‑fee agreement to provide services to federal customers. The dispute comes as the government also signs a blanket agreement with OpenAI, Google and Anthropic to supply AI tools to federal workers. Read more

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Representative Melanie Stansbury are leading a group of congressional Democrats in a probe of White House Special Advisor David Sacks. The inquiry centers on whether Sacks, a former PayPal executive and venture‑capitalist at Craft Ventures who was appointed by President Donald Trump as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, has exceeded the 130‑day limit for Special Government Employees. The lawmakers have asked Sacks to detail his work schedule and communications, citing possible ethics concerns and conflicts of interest given his ties to the crypto industry and prominent Trump allies. Read more