Provpnadvice.com – Dr. Chris Fall, the director of the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation ( CAISI ) is resigning after just three months in the role.
The exit of Fall, who was appointed to head the AI safety organization in April, comes amid a fluctuation in the Trump administration’s AI policy. Staff at CAISI are directly involved with testing AI models as the White House expresses heightened concerns over the cybersecurity risks with new model rollouts.
Fall also served in President Trump’s first term, including as the director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. He also held roles in the Office of Naval Research and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
A spokesperson for the Commerce Department confirmed Dr. Arvind Raman, the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will oversee CAISI and serve as acting director in the interim.
Axios, which first reported Fall’s resignation, said the Commerce Department is expected to announce a new director in the coming weeks.
Fall was brought in after the White House reportedly pushed out another AI researcher, Collin Burns, just four days after he started. Burns previously worked for the AI firm Anthropic, which clashed with the Trump administration earlier this year over safety guardrails for military use of AI.
CAISI serves as one of the government’s primary testing hubs for AI systems, evaluating models’ capabilities and risks regarding cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical weapons. The organization was formerly known as the U.S. AI Safety Institute but was rebranded last year under the Trump administration.
While CAISI is dedicated to AI testing, other agencies are playing an increased role in the government’s AI vetting process, including the Departments of Defense, Treasury and Homeland Security through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The White House last week announced the creation of project “Gold Eagle,” which involves these agencies working together to detect and patch cybersecurity vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure sectors.
Fall’s role was always meant to be temporary, a source familiar told The Hill.
