Trump plan to test AI models has a problem—US security teams were gutted by DOGE
Ars Technica AI · Ashley Belanger · 2026-06-03
Trump signed an executive order establishing voluntary AI safety testing for frontier models, but critics argue the order is largely performative given that DOGE-driven cuts gutted the federal security teams needed to conduct meaningful evaluations.
Appears in
Extraction
Topics: ai-regulationai-safetyus-ai-policytrump-administration
Claims
- Trump signed an executive order establishing a voluntary — not mandatory — process for AI companies to collaborate with the government on safety reviews of frontier models.
- Critics argue the EO provides only performative reassurances and changes little about how and when AI models are actually deployed.
- DOGE-driven cuts to federal cybersecurity and safety teams have reduced the government's practical capacity to conduct real AI safety evaluations.
- An earlier version of the EO was postponed after Trump worried it would stifle AI innovation; the signed version includes no binding requirements on AI companies.
- There was internal administration conflict between cybersecurity experts and officials committed to deregulating AI during drafting.
Key quotes
...promises not 'to stifle this innovation with overly burdensome regulation' and establishes no requirements for AI firms.
Trump claimed he postponed the event because he worried that the EO might have gone too far and had become a 'blocker' impeding AI innovation.