The US government's Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) has seen its third director in as many months leave the agency. Chris Fall, who was appointed in April, has resigned without explanation, joining Collin Burns and David Sacks in departing the role. Fall's departure comes amid ongoing controversy over AI regulation, with the US Commerce Department having recently invoked an export control directive that forced AI model provider Anthropic to pull its models from the market.
CAISI operates under the National Institute of Standards and Technology and is responsible for developing technical standards and testing methods for AI models, as well as assessing cybersecurity risks. Despite its importance, CAISI has faced criticism for its handling of the recent model-risk brouhaha, with the agency not being among the federal organisations mentioned in the White House's new AI safety oversight program, 'Gold Eagle'.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has called for the creation of an independent, industry-run standards body to regulate frontier AI, following the recent ban on Anthropic's models. The administration has been weighing efforts to ban Chinese open models, sparking debate and outrage, including from Sacks, who argued that regulations shouldn't be used as a protectionism strategy for US proprietary AI labs.
With CAISI facing mounting criticism, it remains to be seen how the agency will address the ongoing challenges in the US AI sector.