Open AI Models Could Be Tested by Any User. No Need for U.S. Government to Bother with Testing: U.S. Open AI Models Exempt in New Rules

 

“WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration's new guidelines for powerful artificial-intelligence tools exempt open models made by U.S. companies, a gap that marks the White House's latest bid to ensure AI tools are safe without slowing down innovation.

 

Under a framework that administration officials discussed with executives from leading AI companies Tuesday, only makers of closed, proprietary U.S. models that demonstrate state-of-the-art capabilities in cybersecurity and hacking based on performance benchmarks would have to voluntarily submit those models to the government for testing before they are released, people familiar with the matter said.

 

Open-weight models, whose developers, including Nvidia, make them available to download so users can run and customize them on their own, would be exempt.

 

The general definition of state-of-the-art capabilities could be interpreted differently by makers of closed models and the White House, potentially creating confusion about which models fall into the category, the people said. Tools from Anthropic, OpenAI and Alphabet's Google that are among the most powerful available are likely to force those companies to work with the administration, while other companies, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, might not have to, they said.

 

The prerelease testing is a core part of a June executive order that marked President Trump's attempt to address the mounting security risks posed by AI. While the testing is voluntary, industry executives have said it would be risky to bypass the government review.

 

OpenAI recently delayed its latest class of tools while the administration completed the framework, while Anthropic had two versions of its Mythos model shut down after the White House raised concerns about their security.

 

Nvidia and other makers of open-weight models initially will be exempt but might have to eventually submit their tools for testing as they get more powerful, the people said.

 

"Companies that choose to collaborate with the administration through this framework are putting American innovation, security and cyber defense first," White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said.

 

Axios earlier reported on the open-model exemption.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: U.S. Open AI Models Exempt in New Rules. Ramkumar, Amrith.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 05 Aug 2026: A2.