Trump canceled AI safety testing EO after snub from tech CEOs

In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump canceled a pivotal event on Thursday that was set to unveil an executive order aimed at allowing government testing of advanced AI models prior to their public launch. The decision came just hours before the signing, after Trump learned that several prominent tech executives would not be able to attend, leaving him dissatisfied despite the short notice he had provided. Some executives, who had swiftly rearranged their commitments to attend the signing, were already en route to the Oval Office when they received the unexpected news of the cancellation. Reports indicate that OpenAI was in favor of the executive order, yet influential figures such as Elon Musk, founder of xAI, and Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg were allegedly instrumental in persuading Trump to pull the plug on the signing. Additionally, Trump's former AI advisor, David Sacks, who has not held an official position since March, reportedly joined efforts to postpone the executive order. The tech industry had been actively lobbying against the proposal, expressing concerns that safety testing could hinder the launch timelines for models or necessitate alterations that could delay development. While Musk has refuted claims of his involvement in the cancellation, asserting on social media that the allegations are unfounded, the incident reflects the growing tension between regulatory oversight and innovation in the fast-evolving AI landscape. Following concerns raised by Anthropic regarding cybersecurity risks associated with its latest AI model, Mythos, Trump's administration had begun to reconsider its previously hands-off stance on AI regulation, aiming to broaden voluntary testing requirements for advanced models.