The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may potentially dismiss up to 500 employees, according to several reports, intensifying challenges faced by a nascent AI safety organization. Axios recently reported that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and the Chips for America program, both components of NIST, might undergo significant reductions affecting employees still on probation. Bloomberg reported that some of those employees have already received verbal notifications regarding future terminations.
Even before these reports emerged, the future of AISI was already under scrutiny. The institute, designed to assess risks and develop standards concerning AI development, was established the previous year under an executive order on AI safety by then-President Joe Biden. However, President Donald Trump repealed that order on his first day back in office, leading to the departure of AISI’s director earlier in February.
Fortune consulted several AI safety and policy organizations, which expressed criticism over the reported layoffs. Jason Green-Lowe, the executive director of the Center for AI Policy, commented, stating that if the cuts are confirmed, they would significantly undermine the government’s ability to research and tackle important AI safety issues, particularly at a time when such expertise is crucial.