Commerce Dept. removes page about AI vetting deals with Google, xAI, and Microsoft
Page vanished after announcing pre-deployment inspections of unreleased AI models.
About a week ago, the Commerce Department's Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) announced expanded agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI to conduct pre-deployment evaluations and targeted research on unreleased AI models. The May 5, 2026 announcement emphasized information-sharing and ensuring government understanding of AI capabilities and international competition. These agreements built on earlier partnerships renegotiated under the AI Action Plan.
However, that announcement page has since gone missing. Reuters reported that the original URL now returns an error or redirects to the main CAISI website. The Wayback Machine preserves the original text. Gizmodo requested comment from the White House and Commerce Department but received no immediate response. The sudden removal raises transparency questions, especially as similar deals with Anthropic and OpenAI have been in place since 2024.
- CAISI announced pre-deployment inspection deals with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI on May 5, 2026.
- The official announcement URL now redirects to the main CAISI page; the original text is preserved via Wayback Machine.
- Anthropic and OpenAI signed similar agreements with the government back in 2024.
Why It Matters
The removal of the announcement page undermines transparency in government AI oversight and public trust.