After a year of deregulation, the White House is now discussing an executive order that could subject new AI models to government review before their release. The trigger appears to be Anthropic’s “Mythos” model.
The Trump administration is weighing a fundamental shift in its AI policy. According to a New York Times report, the White House is discussing an executive order that would establish a working group of tech executives and government officials. The group would examine potential oversight procedures, including a formal government review process for new AI models before their public release.
In meetings last week, the White House briefed representatives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI on the plans, the Times writes, citing people familiar with the discussions. The British model is reportedly serving as a template, where several agencies assess whether AI systems meet specific safety standards. A White House spokesperson told The Information that the reports were “speculation” and said any policy announcement would come directly from Trump.
Anthropic’s “Mythos” as the trigger
The reversal began in April, according to the Times, after Anthropic introduced its Claude Mythos model. According to Anthropic, the system is so powerful at identifying software vulnerabilities that the company declined to release it publicly, warning it could trigger a cybersecurity “reckoning.” The NSA is already using Mythos to assess vulnerabilities in US government software.
Within the White House, concern is reportedly growing over the political fallout should an AI-enabled cyberattack cause significant damage. Some officials are pushing for a review system that would give the government first access to new models without blocking their release.
The discussion marks a sharp change in course. After returning to office, Trump rolled back regulatory measures from the Biden administration, including mandatory safety evaluations for models with potential military applications. In July, he called AI a “beautiful baby” that should not be stopped “with foolish rules” or “even stupid rules.” At an international AI summit in Paris, Vice President JD Vance warned that “excessive regulation” could “kill a transformative industry.”
Meanwhile, political pressure has shifted. A Pew survey found that 50 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats are more concerned than excited about the growing use of AI in daily life. There has also been a personnel shift within the White House: David Sacks, who as AI czar had spearheaded the deregulation agenda, left his post in March. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have since taken over the AI agenda and, according to the Times, have told people outside the administration that they plan to play a bigger role in shaping policy.
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