The US Department of Commerce has proposed regulations that require cloud providers and artificial intelligence (AI) developers to report to the government.

The proposed rule will require those making powerful AI models and computing clusters to provide "detailed reporting" to the federal government, covering areas including developmental activities, cybersecurity measures, and the outcomes from red-teaming efforts (a technique where a cyber attack is simulated).

“As AI is progressing rapidly, it holds both tremendous promise and risk. This proposed rule would help us keep pace with new developments in AI technology to bolster our national defense and safeguard our national security,” said Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce.

“This proposed reporting requirement would help us understand the capabilities and security of our most advanced AI systems,” added Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security.

“It would build on BIS’s (Bureau of Industry and Security) long history conducting defense industrial base surveys to inform the American government about emerging risks in the most important US industries.”

The proposed regulation follows a pilot survey conducted earlier this year by BIS, which found that such information would be vital for ensuring AI and computing clusters "meet stringent standards for safety and reliability."

With large amounts of AI conducted in the cloud, this order will also apply to cloud providers offering major computing clusters.

This new rule is in line with previous sentiment from the US government about AI security.

In October 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring developers of AI systems that pose risks to national security, the economy, or public health to share the results with the government prior to publication.

That order also asked that "companies, individuals, or other organizations or entities that acquire, develop, or possess a potential large-scale computing cluster to report any such acquisition, development, or possession, including the existence and location of these clusters and the amount of total computing power available in each cluster."