White House Considers FDA-Style Review Process for AI Models

The White House is weighing an executive order that would require artificial intelligence models to undergo a formal evaluation process modeled on the Food and Drug Administration's drug approval framework, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Wednesday.

Hassett's comments come as the Trump administration is grappling with Mythos, a new advanced AI model that has drawn scrutiny from officials.

The proposal would mark one of the most structured federal interventions into AI development attempted by the current administration, reflecting growing concern within the executive branch about the pace at which powerful AI systems are being deployed without standardized safety assessments.

Hassett did not specify a timeline for when such an executive order might be issued, nor did he detail what criteria an AI model would need to satisfy to clear the proposed review process.

The FDA comparison signals that officials are thinking about AI evaluation in terms of risk stratification and pre-market testing — concepts the agency applies to pharmaceuticals and medical devices before they reach consumers.

On the same day Hassett outlined the proposal, the AI industry was also facing pressure from a separate legal front. Meta Platforms is facing a lawsuit alleging that the company used copyrighted works — including material produced by writers who spent years developing original stories and ideas — to train its AI systems without authorization.

The lawsuit underscores a mounting tension across the industry between the data-intensive requirements of large language model development and intellectual property protections held by individual creators and rights holders.

Together, the regulatory proposal and the copyright litigation reflect two distinct but converging forces that AI developers will need to navigate: government-mandated safety reviews on one side, and civil liability for training data practices on the other.

The regulatory picture was offset Wednesday by bullish market signals for AI infrastructure. Advanced Micro Devices issued a positive outlook for the CPU market, and Nvidia announced a multiyear commercial and technology partnership with Corning aimed at expanding domestic manufacturing of fiber and optical connectivity components.

Under that agreement, Nvidia holds an option to purchase 15 million shares of Corning at an exercise price of $180 per share, along with a pre-funded warrant to acquire up to 3 million additional shares at a purchase price of $500 million. Corning shares climbed more than 10 percent on the news, trading at roughly $183 — placing the 15-million-share warrant in the money.

The AI infrastructure deals pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new records on Wednesday, their second consecutive day of gains.

The convergence of a potential executive order on AI evaluation, active copyright litigation against a major AI developer, and continued private-sector investment in AI infrastructure suggests the sector is entering a period where legal and regulatory constraints may begin to shape development timelines as meaningfully as capital availability.

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