The Office of Science and Technology Policy is the principal White House science and technology advisory office. Established by Congress in 1976 through the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act, it sits within the Executive Office of the President (EOP). In the AI domain it functions as a coordinating body rather than a direct regulator, linking presidential AI priorities to agency implementation.
AI responsibilities
Under the National AI Initiative Act of 2020, OSTP is responsible for establishing and overseeing the National AI Initiative Office (NAIAI), the operational hub for federal AI activities; leading the activities of the Act in coordinating the 10-year national AI initiative; providing technical and administrative support to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the Select Committee on AI, and the National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC); advising the President on the effects of AI on domestic and international affairs; and coordinating federal AI research and development across departments via the NSTC and the Select Committee on AI.
Within the federal AI governance structure, OSTP serves as the structural hub. It houses the NAIAI Office (established 2021), chairs or co-chairs the NSTC (which coordinates science and technology policy), oversees the Select Committee on AI (which advises on R&D priorities), co-chairs the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and coordinates the NITRD AI R&D Interagency Working Group, which spans 32 agencies' AI R&D coordination (Source: GAO-25-107933: AI Federal Efforts Guided by Requirements and Advisory Groups).
Role across executive-order transitions
Under the Biden administration (2021–2025), Executive Order 14110 (October 2023) directed OSTP to play a major role in safety governance: overseeing safety evaluations for frontier models, coordinating with NIST on the AI Safety Institute, and leading international AI safety summit engagement.
Under the Trump administration (2025–), Executive Order 14179 (January 2025) directed OSTP to revise guidance and coordinate an AI Action Plan. During the September 2025 GAO audit, OSTP officials declined to meet with GAO and provided only written feedback, a shift in posture from the Biden-era openness to GAO oversight (Source: GAO-25-107933: AI Federal Efforts Guided by Requirements and Advisory Groups). PCAST was re-established in January 2025, co-chaired by the OSTP Director and the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, placing AI governance within the highest-level presidential advisory structure.
Relationship to the US AI Safety Institute
OSTP is a policy coordination body, while the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) at NIST was created to perform technical safety evaluations of frontier models. The Trump administration's 2025 rebranding of AISI, from a safety emphasis to "AI standards and testing," reflected OSTP's changed policy direction (Source: US AI Safety Institute — Vision, Mission, and Strategic Goals).
On July 21, 2026, OSTP released "Science: A New Golden Age", presented as the first comprehensive rethinking of the federal science enterprise since Vannevar Bush's 1945 report; it shifts support toward individual scientists and ARPA-style programs, makes AI-accelerated research a core priority under the Genesis Mission, and requires agencies with research budgets of $3 billion or more to submit action plans within 90 days (Source: whitehouse.gov; washington.edu).
Key documents
- America's AI Action Plan — July 2025 White House AI strategy, coordinated by OSTP
- Science: A New Golden Age (OSTP, 2026) — July 2026 federal science strategy
- Executive Order 14179 — Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence — directed OSTP to coordinate the Action Plan
- Executive Order 14110 — Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI — (rescinded) directed OSTP on safety governance
- GAO-25-107933: AI Federal Efforts Guided by Requirements and Advisory Groups — catalogs 9 OSTP-specific requirements
Relationships
- related: US AI Safety Institute (NIST AISI), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC)
- related: Executive Order 14179 — Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, America's AI Action Plan
- related: OMB M-25-21 — Accelerating Federal Use of AI through Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust, OMB M-25-22 — Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial Intelligence in Government (OSTP coordinates with OMB on these)
- regulated-by: EOP (reports to President)
- related: GSA — General Services Administration (AI Deployer) (AI Center of Excellence reports to OMB/OSTP)