Exclusive: Industry urges Lutnick to keep AI risk framework
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Tech, banking, auto and cable trade groups don't want the Trump administration to change the federal framework they've been using to safely deploy AI, per a letter shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Absent federal AI legislation, companies rely on the Commerce Department-backed guidelines to use AI tools internally.
- According to tech lobbyists familiar with the matter, there's a fear that certain aspects of the framework deemed "woke" or tied to the Biden era could be cut from the guidelines that businesses have spent time and money on.
Context: The National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Risk Management Framework, a voluntary guide to safe and responsible AI use, was first released in 2023 thanks to a bill passed during President Trump's first administration.
- Trump's AI action plan calls for "revising the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to eliminate references to misinformation, diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change."
- Lobbyists anticipate a revised version of the framework will come out soon.
- The framework has general guidelines for AI standards to ensure AI systems don't discriminate or have bias.
What they're saying: "The Risk Management Framework is the ideal vehicle to help execute the Administration's priorities, particularly the goals outlined in the AI Action Plan to accelerate innovation and reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers," the letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reads.
- It's signed by ten industry groups, including the Alliance for Automative Innovation, the Alliance for Digital Innovation, the American Bankers Association, the Business Software Alliance, the Consumer Technology Association and TechNet.
- Those groups argue that widespread AI adoption is only possible for their members with the common language and standards the framework lays out.
What we're watching: Tech lobbyists told Axios that they expect administration officials to revise the framework.
- Updating federal guidance isn't unusual, the lobbyists noted, but they're wary of a broad rewrite that could upend compliance efforts.
- That could also prompt states to roll out their own risk blueprints.
