Trump and Musk’s transformation of the US federal government is still ongoing, and according to sources, this latest fire has reached the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the US Department of Commerce.
NIST is a non regulatory agency responsible for developing product safety standards in fields ranging from beauty products to quantum computers, with a focus on semiconductor chips and artificial intelligence in the United States.
According to several current and former employees of NIST, the organization has been preparing for layoffs. Last week, some NIST staff saw officials from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) entering their office building, seeking access to NIST’s communication system.
According to reports, NIST issued notices to some probationary employees on Wednesday, reminding them that they may soon receive termination notices. According to informed sources, the organization has not yet made a final decision on the scope of layoffs, but it is expected to lay off up to 500 people.
The news indicates that most of NIST’s layoffs may be due to recent probationary employees, but they may also affect technical experts in the leadership, including the three laboratory directors promoted last year.
Among them, the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence Security is also a team in NIST. The Institute was founded in October 2023 by the AI executive order of former President Biden, and has been working closely with American AI companies, including the xAI of DOGE Secretary Musk and its competitor OpenAI.
But in recent weeks, several senior leaders in artificial intelligence at NIST have resigned one after another, and Elizabeth Kelly, the chief director of the Artificial Intelligence Security Research Institute, announced her departure earlier this month. Previously, Trump had withdrawn Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence, stating that the order hindered the development of artificial intelligence in the United States.
At the AI Action Summit held in Paris last week, US Vice President Vance also emphasized that the new government plans to lower the priority of AI security. No one from the Artificial Intelligence Security Research Institute attended the meeting.
In addition to artificial intelligence, NIST also includes the Office of Semiconductor Investment Regulation, which has developed funding plans for the U.S. Chip Act and is responsible for implementing related measures.
A large portion of the laid-off employees may come from the office, and it is reported that three fifths of the team members responsible for implementing the $39 billion manufacturing incentive project and two thirds of the staff responsible for the $11 billion chip development project will be affected.