Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI have pledged to grant the U.S. government early access to their latest artificial intelligence models to facilitate preliminary national security risk assessments.

The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) under the Department of Commerce announced the agreement on Tuesday. The deal would allow the center to examine and research the AI models to determine their capabilities and potential security risks before their public deployment.

The body has already conducted over 40 evaluations, including on advanced models that are not yet publicly available. Developers often submit versions of their models with safety guardrails removed, enabling the center to thoroughly assess national security risks.

Chris Fall, the Director of CAISI, underscored the necessity of independent and rigorous measurement science in comprehending the impact of frontier AI on national security.

This agreement builds ...