Director of Commerce AI standards office out after three months | CyberScoop<\/title> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Director of Commerce AI standards office out after three months\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Center for AI Standards and Innovation has quietly become a key hub for the federal government to assess potential threats and harms that AI systems pose.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyberscoop\/\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-20T18:10:03+00:00\"> <meta 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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.752351097179\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"34.430992736077\">\n<p> The Center for AI Standards and Innovation has quietly become a key hub for the federal government to assess potential threats and harms that AI systems pose. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/89870\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=505,337 505w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-2.jpg?resize=1012,675 1012w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\"><figcaption> A sign marks the location of the headquarters of the Department of Commerce, home of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, on April 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by J. David Ake\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"19.878249566724\"><body readability=\"40.604651162791\"><\/p>\n<p>The head of a key federal government AI testing lab is leaving his post just months after taking over.<\/p>\n<p>A Department of Commerce spokesperson confirmed to CyberScoop that Chris Fall is stepping down as director of the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, and his position is being backfilled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing Chris\u2019s departure, NIST Director Dr. Arvind Raman will continue to oversee CAISI and will serve as Acting CAISI Director,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement to CyberScoop.<\/p>\n<p>Further details about the circumstances behind Fall\u2019s departure were not provided. Axios, which first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/07\/20\/trump-ai-security-agency-head-resigns?mrfcid=202607206a5311427345996817b0e134\">reported<\/a> the departure, cited sources saying that Fall resigned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Center for AI Standards and Innovation has quietly become <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/us-lifting-export-control-restrictions-anthropic-mythos-fable\/\">a key hub <\/a>for the federal government to assess potential threats and harms that AI systems can pose to cybersecurity and national security. <\/p>\n<p>Early in the Trump administration, the center began informally working with frontier AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to test their models for threats, like their offensive hacking skills, assistance with building biological or nuclear weapons and other dangerous capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Fall was tapped to lead the center in April, and his departure just three months later comes as the White House has elevated the work of the center as one of the key means for determining which frontier AI models do \u2014 and do not \u2014 represent a step change in cyber or other capabilities compared to what\u2019s available today.<\/p>\n<p>Fall previously held other government posts, including as director of the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science, assistant director for defense programs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and acting chief scientist at the Office of Naval Research.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.6102941176471\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. Prior to that, he has provided award-winning coverage of cybersecurity news across the public and private sectors for various publications since 2017. Derek has a bachelor\u2019s degree in print journalism from Hofstra University in New York and a master\u2019s degree in public policy from George Mason University in Virginia. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> 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{"id":8842,"date":"2026-07-20T13:10:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=89870"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:10:03","slug":"director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/director-of-commerce-ai-standards-office-out-after-three-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Director of Commerce AI standards office out after three months"},"content":{"rendered":"