U.S. Democratic senators write to White House over undisclosed AI regulatory framework

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal wrote to White House officials requesting an explanation of the tech industry's influence on the not-yet-released AI regulatory framework. In the letter, the two expressed concern that the Trump administration is catering to the interests of big tech CEOs rather than addressing the safety and security risks posed by increasingly sophisticated AI systems. The letter named Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as playing a central role in shaping the newer White House AI agreement, and mentioned the administration's close relationship with industry executives. The framework stems from the AI executive order Trump signed this year, and is a voluntary framework requiring AI companies to submit to the government before releasing their highest-level models. The senators asked relevant officials to answer five questions by October 19, including details of meetings and communications between industry and government officials before the executive order's release in June, whether independent evaluators or stakeholders outside industry were consulted, and a description of the pre-deployment testing process under the framework.