What did the White House Executive Order on artificial intelligence say?
Reviewed by Jason Burns, Editorial Steward · Last updated
Executive Order 14110, issued on October 30, 2023, directed federal agencies to set safety, security, and civil-rights standards for artificial intelligence and to require developers of the most powerful models to share safety-test results with the U.S. government. As Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States, put it on the record before the Executive Order 14110, 'Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence' (October 30, 2023): "My Administration places the highest urgency on governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly, and is therefore advancing a coordinated, Federal Government-wide approach to doing so."
Editor's note: Executive Order 14110 was rescinded on January 20, 2025 by a subsequent administration. This answer quotes the order as issued; the text remains a matter of public record in the Federal Register, but the operative federal AI policy has since changed.
What this means in plain English
The order set out a whole-of-government approach: it directed the Department of Commerce (through NIST) to develop safety testing and red-teaming guidelines for the most capable AI systems; used the Defense Production Act to require companies training certain very large models to notify the federal government and share safety-test results; and told agencies to develop standards for using AI in areas like housing, employment, health care, and law enforcement.
What this does not mean
The order was an executive action, not a statute. It could be, and later was, rescinded by a subsequent president. It did not create private causes of action or generally applicable rules on AI developers by itself; most obligations flowed through agency rulemaking.
How to use this information
Even though E.O. 14110 was rescinded, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and agency guidance issued under it remain influential. Read the order to understand the federal policy vocabulary — dual-use foundation models, red teaming, safety test reporting — that recurs across today's AI policy debates.
Risks and limitations
Executive orders can be, and this one was, rescinded. Do not rely on E.O. 14110 as a current source of federal obligations without checking whether the specific provision was superseded, transferred into a statute, or preserved by an agency rule.
Sources
- Executive Order 14110 in the Federal Register (retrieved 2026-07-19)
- White House fact sheet on E.O. 14110 (archived) (retrieved 2026-07-19)
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