White House officials and industry representatives sorting through the confusion of Thursday\u2019s aborted artificial intelligence policy announcement still expect to see some policy emerge from the Trump administration on advanced AI models like Mythos.<\/p>\n
But President Donald Trump has \u201cmany\u201d specific concerns about the draft executive order<\/a>, he said in an interview Friday morning. And his decision to pull it after weeks in the making, even blindsiding some senior administration officials, underscores that a final call on this novel issue will not come easy.<\/p>\n \u201cI was hearing concerns, but I was also seeing the concerns myself,\u201d Trump said when asked if any tech executives had expressed qualms about the order. \u201cI have concerns about it, and I don\u2019t want to approve anything until it\u2019s done properly.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said he was worried the order would have \u201cinhibited\u201d the AI industry, which he described as \u201cone of the greatest, one of the biggest things ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want the industry to be able to continue to win, we’re leading by a lot over China and everybody else, and I want to continue, and I felt it was inhibiting the industry,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n A White House official and two industry representatives, who, like others in this report, were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive policy dynamics, said they expected the executive order would now head back to the drawing board and be reworked. But few felt confident about what comes next, amid rising concerns about AI models\u2019 potential for launching devastating cyberattacks.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think it’s dead,\u201d a tech industry lobbyist said. \u201cI think that there will be an effort to make some changes and get some sort of a framework in place, if for nothing else to address the cyber issues.\u201d<\/p>\n Another industry representative with knowledge of the discussions described the process as \u201ca mess,\u201d and said it \u201cwouldn\u2019t surprise them\u201d if the executive order ends up pulled altogether.<\/p>\n The White House did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross is expected to remain at the helm of the discussions, the White House official and two of the industry representatives said. Cairncross has played a leading role<\/a> in the policy discussions around advanced cyber models but was not informed of the order\u2019s postponement until after Trump decided it, the White House official said.<\/p>\n “Sean isn’t the problem,” the official said.<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has also been a lead administration official on the issue, also wasn\u2019t notified until after Trump had pulled the order, the official said.<\/p>\n Senior administration officials such as Bessent and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett have repeatedly emphasized the need for companies and government agencies to shore up their cyber defenses in the face of advanced AI models with the capacity to find holes in security systems faster than humans ever have.<\/p>\n