AI models will be evaluated to determine if they are threat capable enough to be considered “covered.” If they are, the government would request up to 30 days with them for private testing and evaluation before they are released to the public.
Foreign-made consumer-grade internet routers are now blocked from sale in the US by default, and will need to undergo a special approval process that comes with a thumbs-up from the DoW or DHS. While the ban applies globally, the main national security rationale is to reduce dependency on equipment coming from China.
Some of the national security memo is an exhortation to Congress to authorize funding for projects seen as vital to keeping up with China in these areas. But federal agencies can be expected to immediately pick up the pace in integrating AI and recruiting talent, and both protections and new risk guidelines will be coming soon.
The government has a valid theoretical national security concern, one that has already led to TikTok bans on most federal devices and at numerous state and local levels, but the argument is not landing well with a US public that has almost half its population on the app.