CSIS Strategic Technologies Program is reporting that President Donald J Trump postponed an executive order that would have created a voluntary process for companies to allow federal government review of frontier artificial intelligence systems before public release. It said the delay followed concerns that the order could hinder U.S. AI leadership compared to China, along with objections from parts of the tech industry and administration. The program also reported that the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced a hearing to examine legislation establishing a federal comprehensive privacy and data security law. It said the hearing will focus on H.R. 8413, the SECURE Data Act, which aims to create clear, enforceable protections for American data and hold companies accountable. In world news, CSIS is reporting that IBM plans to invest $10 billion to build the first large-scale quantum computer by 2029. It said Samsung pledged $1.5 billion for a memory chip testing facility in Vietnam, with plans to reinvest up to $2.5 billion in profits. Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, highlighting the risks of artificial intelligence, less than two weeks after criticizing AI militarization. The program also noted that the three-day Trump-Xi summit in Beijing concluded with limited progress on issues President Trump had hoped to address, including deals on Boeing, Nvidia, Iran, and Taiwan, despite warm words from both sides. Additionally, Russia began large-scale nuclear-specific war games this month, involving over 64,000 participants and operations in neighboring Belarus, as tensions with NATO rise.
