Trump plans firings at NIST, tasked with overseeing AI

Sweeping cuts are expected to come to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, the federal lab housed within the Department of Commerce. NIST oversees, among other things, chips and artificial intelligence technology. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to terminate as many as 500 of NIST’s probationary employees.

It’s unclear when the firings will hit, but it’s been mere weeks since Trump repealed Biden’s 2023 sweeping executive order on AI. In that order, the Biden administration had entrusted NIST with managing semiconductor manufacturing funds and establishing safety standards for AI development and use.

It also oversees the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, the initiative in charge of testing advanced AI systems for safety and security, as well as setting standards for the safe development of AI. Since the institute is still nascent — established in 2023 — it could be especially vulnerable to across-the-board cuts to probationary staff.