The message, which promised a strategy that “empowers America’s great innovators, not bureaucracy,” came just one day after Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, had suggested the administration was considering requiring government approval for new artificial intelligence models akin to the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process. The whiplash was immediate and disorienting.
Seven lobbyists and policy advisers told POLITICO they have struggled to get specifics on a possible executive order that could impose tough vetting rules on new AI models. The confusion reflects a broader uncertainty about how the Trump administration intends to approach the technology, an area where the president was widely expected to take a largely hands-off approach.
“There is no clarity,” said one senior tech lobbyist, who like others was granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions. The person contended that “different factions within the White House have different views about what should happen.” The lobbyist added that the administration’s “lack of organization is both increasing anxiety across the AI policy ecosystem and also impeding the development of effective policy.”
The recent emergence of Mythos, a powerful new AI model developed by Anthropic, scrambled those expectations. Top Trump officials including Wiles and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross moved quickly to address the potential cybersecurity risks posed by the model and soon began discussing a slate of possible actions, including an executive order that would require companies to get a green light from the government before releasing new models.
Senior administration officials moved Thursday to reassure industry leaders that no final decision had been made on requiring government review before AI companies could deploy new models. That word came one day after Hassett’s comments had stirred up significant anxiety within the tech sector. A White House official said discussion about potential executive orders is “speculation,” and that any policy announcement will come directly from the president.
A second lobbyist said Wiles’ tweet “did provide a degree of comfort.” But the person also said that it “remains unclear right now, from where I sit, what the White House is doing.” The mixed signals have left the tech industry struggling to navigate a regulatory landscape that appears to shift by the hour.
