Is China so scary that we must hand over AI to the deep-state bureaucracy?

On June 2, 2026, the White House released an executive order on artificial intelligence called “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” The administration was at pains to explain what the order was not. It was not a burden or the Biden administration’s “top-down regulatory approach.” It was not, the official fact sheet insisted, mandatory licensing or pre-clearance or permitting of any kind. The document spent considerable energy describing its own absence.

This is a familiar American style of governance: The regulation that will not say its name.

How much technical judgment should a republic outsource to its security bureaucracy?

However, the order’s responsibility is actually rather specific. Within 30 days of signing, it directs federal agencies to prioritize the cyber defense of their information systems and requires