OpenAI Wants to Rewrite Its Washington Playbook With 'Reverse Federalism' Strategy

Donald Trump was supposed to sign an executive order on Thursday that would have created a voluntary framework for frontier AI companies to have their models reviewed by the federal government for security risks before being made available publicly, according to Alex Heath. It was reportedly canceled because tech execs couldn’t get to D.C. fast enough for the photo op—though Trump claimed that it was because he “didn’t like certain aspects of it” and doesn’t want to “do anything that will get in the way” of America’s AI battle with China, per PunchBowl News’ Diego Munhoz. It’s just the latest instance of the Trump administration’s general disinterest in regulating AI companies (except the ones that piss him off; those get swift and immediate penalties). It’s a disinterest they have even tried to force onto states by passing a 10-year moratorium on any AI regulation, though that effort has repeatedly failed. But in the absence of any federal regulation or guidance, and with the state policy up for grabs, the AI companies are doing everything in their power to work the refs. According to a report from Politico, OpenAI has been at the forefront of this strategy, launching a state-by-s