FLI President calls White House AI order 'important step' but demands mandatory review

In response to the White House Executive Order establishing an AI working group, Anthony Aguirre, President and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, issued a statement praising the move as an important step in the right direction. He emphasized that President Trump is correctly treating frontier AI as a technology with profound implications for national security, the economy, and global stability. The order directs the federal government to begin addressing these risks, moving beyond the era of relying solely on corporate self-regulation. Aguirre noted that systems like Mythos can uncover vulnerabilities that have eluded cybersecurity experts for decades, underscoring the need for government oversight.

However, Aguirre stressed that voluntary frameworks are not enough. He called for a mandatory government pre-deployment review process for the most powerful AI systems, allowing the government to block releases that pose an unacceptable national security risk. He encouraged President Trump to push further in this direction, citing the accelerating pace of AI development and the need for strong leadership to keep Americans safe. The statement reflects FLI's long-standing advocacy for robust AI governance, published on June 3, 2026, as part of the institute's ongoing work to steer transformative technologies away from extreme risks.