Officials at the U.S. government’s main AI testing center were recently asked to report informally to a White House office, according to The Associated Press, which cited two former government officials. The AP reported that the arrangement is raising concerns among experts about whether AI oversight can stay independent.
Key Highlights
- The center, a Commerce Department division, has about $10 million a year, roughly one-eighth of its U.K. counterpart’s budget, AP reported.
- It has no permanent leader and has stopped publishing its research.
- The AP’s sources spoke anonymously. The White House did not answer specific questions about the center.
- The reports do not confirm that any findings have been changed or muted.
What the AP Reported
The Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence, known as CAISSI, was previously called the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, according to AP. Two former officials who described the talks asked not to be named to protect current staff.
AP did not say which White House office is involved or whether the reporting arrangement is formal. The reports reviewed included no response from the Commerce Department.
A Center in Flux
The AP reported that the center’s director was hired in April and fired within days. His replacement resigned after a few months. The head of its parent institute is acting director, and the center has had no permanent leader since.
CAISSI has also stopped publishing its research on how safely certain AI systems perform. In August, Congress asked why, AP reported. The reason was not fully explained in the reports reviewed. OpenAI had urged policymakers to increase the center’s funding and support.
Earlier Signs
Startup Fortune, summarizing earlier Reuters reporting, said that on Oct. 12 Reuters, citing The Information, reported a plan to move three senior CAISSI officials to the White House. It said a White House official cited coordination problems with Commerce. That account is secondhand and could not be checked against the original reports.
What the White House Said
The White House did not address CAISSI directly. It told AP that President Trump formally established a “Super Intelligence Force” and commissioned a risk report from his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, according to the AP.
In September, Trump asked AI companies to take on “tremendous self-policing” as part of a voluntary safety pact, AP reported. The administration has not said how it will monitor compliance.
What Experts Are Saying
Amos Toh of the Brennan Center for Justice said such decisions are “of immense public consequence and should be explained in public.” AP said critics argue that treating AI safety as a national security issue shifts decisions toward executive discretion and secrecy.
Logan Koepke of Upturn asked “what role does government testing actually play” if the largest companies run their own evaluations. Caroline Siegel Singh of the Federation of American Scientists called such institutions “really powerful” ones that can “drastically improve our lives.”
AP also reported that supporters of closer White House ties say they could raise the center’s profile and funding. That is a possible benefit, not an outcome.
The Independent Assessment Debate
A separate Fortune commentary published Nov. 6 argued that a Sept. 29 AI accord calls for independent assessments but does not define who qualifies to perform them. The author, Avani Desai, is CEO of Schellman, a firm that sells AI assurance services, so she has a commercial interest. “Independence isn’t something you simply declare,” she wrote. That is an opinion, not a finding.
AP noted that Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have promoted independent evaluation firms, but companies can limit those firms’ access and disregard their results.
What to Watch Next
Open questions include which White House office is involved, who will lead CAISSI, whether its research resumes and whether Congress presses for answers. For related technology and policy coverage, see our report on the AI data center backlash after the midterms.
Watch: Trump and AI Leaders on Self-Policing
Video: “Trump says AI leaders signed a ‘constitution’ to police themselves” (YouTube).
Sources
- The Boston Globe (AP): Staff at the US center for AI safety are reporting to the White House, raising independence concerns
- Daily Sitka Sentinel (AP): Staff at the US center for AI safety are reporting to the White House
- Startup Fortune: US AI safety center staff now report informally to the White House, AP says
- Fortune (opinion): The giant loophole in the White House AI deal