US says it will speed development and use of AI for national security

So the White House has discovered that AI for national security needs to go faster — and has issued a statement promising to accelerate it, while also promising not to use it for "unlawful surveillance." On the very same day, Democrats introduced a 'responsible' defense AI bill we covered earlier — a framework so toothless it could double as a gum shield. One imagines the legal team working overtime to define "unlawful" in time for the machines to decide it themselves, given that the directive offers no enforcement mechanism and no independent oversight board.

This acceleration comes hot on the heels of the NSA quietly deploying Anthropic's Mythos for cyber operations — a model whose safety features are presumably being "gated" just enough to pass the sniff test. Around half-a-dozen Anthropic engineers are now at Fort Meade figuring out how to turn a "responsible" AI into a weapon. But hey, the White House says speed is key, so let's not let pesky questions about oversight slow us down. The fact sheet — yes, a fact sheet, not an executive order — provides no specifics: no budget, no timeline, no new oversight body. Just vibes and velocity.

And the "unlawful surveillance" promise? That's the most British of all signals — like a pub landlord saying "no trouble please" while the bouncers crack their knuckles. The directive includes no enforcement mechanism, no independent oversight board, and no timeline for publishing those "ethical safeguards." But don't worry — the White House stressed it. That's the important part. Between the NSA's secret integration of Mythos and the White House's vague acceleration pledge, the message is clear: we're going fast, and we'll figure out the rules later. The Dems' bill, meanwhile, calls for a "framework" but no binding restrictions. What could possibly go wrong? Probably nothing. Right?