The President Cancelled the AI Safety Order at the Last Minute.

The President was going to sign an artificial intelligence executive order on Thursday. The Oval Office was booked. The reporters were called.

Then, a couple of hours before the signing, he didn’t.

He told the press he didn’t like certain aspects of it. He said the order could “get in the way of that lead” America has on AI. He said he didn’t want to dull the edge.

The aspects he didn’t like, per NBC News, were the security aspects. The order was going to make federal agencies check the leading AI models for security vulnerabilities before the models go public.

The math on the lead.

When you say you’re leading the race, and someone hands you a brake, you have two choices. You can use the brake to slow down before the bend. You can also throw the brake away and hope the bend is gentle.

The President chose option two. He said his reason was protecting the lead.

The lead is currently measured in: how fast we ship AI. The brake would have measured: how often the AI ships with security holes that other people can use.

He pulled the brake. He kept the speed.

On postponement versus cancellation.

The White House used the word “postponed.” That word is doing some work. There is no announced new signing date. There is no announced revision schedule. The aspects he didn’t like have not been listed.

In my experience, “postponed” without a date is the polite term for cancelled. I have used that word as a customer waiting on a check that never came.

What was actually in the order.

Per NBC News, the order would have directed federal agencies to shore up cybersecurity defenses and work with the leading AI companies on a voluntary basis to test advanced models before they reach the public.

These are the things he didn’t like.

The leading AI companies, by the way, also did not love being asked to do voluntary testing. They preferred to ship.

It worked out for them.