The Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise might hearth as many as 500 staffers, in keeping with a number of stories — cuts that additional threaten a fledgling AI security group.
Axios reported this week that the US AI Security Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, each a part of NIST, could be “gutted” by layoffs concentrating on probationary workers (who’re usually of their first yr or two on the job). And Bloomberg mentioned a few of these workers had already been given verbal discover of upcoming terminations.
Even earlier than the most recent layoff stories, AISI’s future was trying unsure. The institute, which is meant to review dangers and develop requirements round AI improvement, was created final yr as a part of then-President Joe Biden’s govt order on AI security. President Donald Trump repealed that order on his first day again in workplace, and AISI’s director departed earlier in February.
Fortune spoke to quite a lot of AI security and coverage organizations who all criticized the reported layoffs.
“These cuts, if confirmed, would severely influence the federal government’s capability to analysis and deal with important AI security considerations at a time when such experience is extra important than ever,” mentioned Jason Inexperienced-Lowe, govt director of the Heart for AI Coverage.
