Trump signs narrower executive order on AI oversight after industry objections

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at giving the government a chance to review powerful artificial intelligence models before they are released.

The order requires some AI companies to voluntarily submit their new models to the government for testing or evaluation 30 days before the products are released to the public. An earlier draft of the order had called for a voluntary review up to 90 days in advance, though AI industry insiders have pushed for a review closer to a two-week period.

Trump was scheduled to sign the more demanding version of the executive order in late May, but was delayed after industry opposition, including from venture capitalist and former White House AI czar David Sachs. The president said at the time that he didn’t want to do anything to get in the way of AI companies leading against China.

“Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the establishment of mandatory state licensing, prior authorization, or permitting requirements for the development, deployment, launch, or distribution of new artificial intelligence models, including frontier models,” the order published Tuesday said.

Trump had planned to sign the EO with a group of top Silicon Valley CEOs in attendance, but he ended up signing the current version privately.

In addition to the voluntary government review of the AI ​​model, the Office of the Presidents is directing the Department of Justice to treat crimes such as AI-assisted hacking and unauthorized access as a high-priority enforcement area.

This is not the president’s first EO on artificial intelligence. Last December, Trump signed an order directing the development of a “single rulebook,” or national AI policy framework, aimed at preempting state AI laws.