The Biden Administration’s Executive Order on AI (EO), released last week, directs many federal agencies to develop new binding rules or standards for AI uses, and sweepingly aims to establish a unified approach to regulating AI in the U.S. The EO seeks to shape private companies’ behavior, directing the government to lead by example on AI testing, public disclosures, privacy protections, cybersecurity support, introduction of AI watermarks and much more. This first installment of a two-part article series analyzing the EO’s key impacts on businesses offers seven takeaways, discussing implications for risk assessments, privacy-enhancing technology, defensive cybersecurity and worker monitoring. Part two will explain the sudden emergence of AI “red teaming” as a best practice for companies, and new regulatory focus. See “NIST Advances Soft Law for AI While World Awaits Hard Laws” (Apr. 19, 2023).