Last month, the U.S. government was improvising its way through a Mythos and Fable ban. Now, one of AI’s most respected lab chiefs is offering a more permanent answer.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis just published a plan for a U.S. body that would safety-test advanced AI before public release, pitching a formal rulebook to a government that spent the last month making AI policy one emergency at a time.
How the watchdog would work
The proposal is modelled on FINRA, the finance world’s self-regulator. The new body would screen new models for deception, bioweapons creation, and malicious hacking skills. Rather than basing coverage on where a lab is located or who can access the model, capability would decide what falls under review. Frontier labs would voluntarily submit their models for assessment 30 days before release.
Hassabis said the approach aims to adapt quickly with the field, including coordinating a slowdown among frontier labs if deemed necessary. He told Axios that open-source capabilities could move into dangerous territory within 18 months, adding urgency to the proposal.
Why this proposal stands out
The industry already knows what oversight without rules looks like after the Mythos and Fable episode: act first, sort out questions later. Hassabis’ plan is the most concrete framework yet put forward, but ‘independent’ needs questioning when the body is both funded by the labs it oversees and answers to a government that just got a taste of AI regulation powers.
Still, the timeline is ambitious. Hassabis wants the independent oversight body running this year, which would make it one of the fastest AI governance structures to move from concept to operation.
The bigger picture
This proposal shifts the debate from whether AI oversight is coming to who gets to design it. As AI capabilities accelerate, the window for voluntary, industry-led safety measures is narrowing. Whether through self-regulation, government mandate, or a hybrid model like Hassabis proposes, the pressure for structured pre-release assessment is building.
For now, the ball is in the U.S. government’s court. If it acts, the world may finally have a template for AI safety review that moves beyond reactive bans toward proactive oversight.
