Trump Backs Independent AI Audits in Shift Toward Stronger Safety
President Donald Trump supported employing external auditors to evaluate the safety of artificial intelligence systems through an agreement with Silicon Valley executives that aims to bypass new government regulations in response to rising anxiety about AI dangers.
As part of the accord established during a White House lunch on Tuesday with around twenty leading tech industry leaders, AI firms also agreed to convene regularly to establish industry best practices. The document holds no legal standing, although the president informed reporters it was “morally binding.”
“It’s kind of similar to a constitution, in some manner,” Trump remarked to reporters in the White House driveway after the event. “The most significant individuals globally endorsed that, and I authorized it as president, and it truly serves as a kind of safeguard.”
The agreement came about following a nearly two-hour discussion between the president and his visitors, held amid escalating global concerns regarding the possible catastrophic dangers of AI.
The signatories featured executives from the AI industry's leading developers: Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic PBC, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp., and Elon Musk from SpaceXAI.
Additional signers featured OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Platforms Inc., and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., based on a document shared by Trump on his Truth Social network. Multiple companies, such as Anthropic and OpenAI, have pledged to utilize independent assessors.
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Trump’s readiness to discuss safety after earlier labeling doomsday concerns as “a hoax” shows how AI has grown to be politically sensitive as the November elections approach.
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Trump has become one of the most vocal supporters of unregulated AI advancement, creating conflict with voters who doubt the technology. Over 70% of voters indicated a preference for candidates who support tougher AI regulations, as stated by a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
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Public concerns regarding the dangers of AI have intensified after several prominent hacks by rogue OpenAI agents, including an incident involving an Australian government site, along with recent alerts from ex-AI company staff that the technology represents an existential risk to humanity.