US feds are actively hiring "person who decides which models to ban"
The U.S. federal government is hiring for a position that involves determining which AI models to prohibit or restrict, reflecting ongoing efforts to regulate artificial intelligence technologies.
Background
This USAJOBS listing (Job ID 856265200) is a real federal hiring notice seeking a senior AI policy official. The job's core function — deciding which AI models to restrict or ban — reflects the U.S. government's escalating focus on AI safety and national security risks from advanced AI systems (e.g., models that could aid cyberattacks, bioweapons development, or autonomous warfare). This role comes amid ongoing debates over export controls on AI chips (e.g., NVIDIA bans to China), the Biden Administration's October 2023 AI Executive Order, and a broader push to regulate foundation models (powerful general-purpose AIs like GPT-4 or Claude) before they become too capable to control. The role signals the government is moving from policy discussion to direct enforcement: an actual human will determine which models are too dangerous to deploy or export.