The AI Safety Institute Gets Ready for Major Layoffs

Last Week in AI Policy #8 - February 24, 2025

Feb 25, 2025

Delivered to your inbox every Monday, Last Week in AI Policy is a rundown of the previous week’s happenings in AI governance in America. News, articles, opinion pieces, and more, to bring you up to speed for the week ahead.

Federal Government

The AI Safety Institute (AISI), and its parent organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, are preparing for mass layoffs.

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to lay off approximately 500 staffers at NIST, including employees at the US AI Safety Institute. According to multiple reports from Axios, Bloomberg, and Wired, the cuts primarily target probationary employees who are within their first year or two of employment. These layoffs are part of broader government efficiency efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk. The AI Safety Institute, created under President Biden's executive order on AI which Trump rescinded on his first day in office, faces an uncertain future. It has already lost its director, Elizabeth Kelly, and several other key leaders in recent weeks.

Policy experts and congressional Democrats have criticized the cuts, arguing they undermine US AI leadership and national security. The Center for AI Policy's executive director Jason Green-Lowe described the cuts as potentially "severely impact[ing] the government's capacity to research and address critical AI safety concerns." High-profile departures, such as NIST’s chief AI advisor Elham Tabassi, have already raised concerns about the institute’s ability to conduct AI risk assessment and model evaluation.

Congressional Democrats and civil society groups have denounced the layoffs, while Vice President JD Vance’s remarks at the recent AI Action Summit in Paris—during which he stated: "I'm not here this morning to talk about AI safety. I'm here to talk about AI opportunity.” —signal a shift toward prioritizing AI-driven economic growth over regulatory oversight. Vance's statement comes as part of a broader shift in the AI policy focus of the new administration: a shift away from safety, and toward growth and innovation.

Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) have introduced the Strategy for Public Health Preparedness and Response to Artificial Intelligence Threats Act.

The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy for mitigating AI-related public health risks. The bill highlights growing concerns that AI could facilitate the design of chemical and biological weapons, referencing studies showing that AI models can be exploited to generate toxic compounds or guide non-experts in developing pandemic-level viruses. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that DeepSeek’s r1 provided instructions for a bioweapon attack, further fueling fears of AI misuse.

Senator Todd Young (R-IN) lays out a tech power strategy for the Trump administration.

Emphasizing AI, semiconductors, and diplomatic alliances as key levers of national strength, he argues that the administration should leverage the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, expand U.S.-led tech standards, and integrate AI into a broader national security and trade framework. Senator Young called for a multilateral network of democratic tech allies to counter China, advocating for stronger export controls and trade agreements prioritizing U.S. technology leadership. He urges further investment in AI, biotech, quantum computing, and defense applications, alongside diplomatic efforts to embed U.S.-led tech norms globally. With appointments like JD Vance and Jacob Helberg in key economic and tech roles, Young signals that the administration is prepared to build on AI and other advanced technologies as pillars of U.S. geopolitical strategy.

Several universities have been urged to terminate partnerships with Chinese universities linked to Beijing’s military and technological ambitions.

House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) are urging Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, and the University of Detroit Mercy cut ties with their Chinese counterparts, citing concerns that these collaborations risk espionage, technology transfer, and the exploitation of federally funded research. Universities like EMU and Oakland hold NSA-designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense while maintaining partnerships with Chinese institutions involved in military R&D. “The university’s [People’s Republic of China] collaborations jeopardize the integrity of U.S. research, risk the exploitation of sensitive technologies, and undermine taxpayer investments intended to strengthen America’s technological and defense capabilities,” Moolenaar and Walberg wrote. Previous investigations led Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan to sever ties.

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