Trump, top AI executives sign ‘morally binding’ voluntary controls: ‘It’s almost like a constitution’

President Trump and leaders of the nation’s largest artificial intelligence companies signed a set of voluntary safety standards, as calls grow for stricter guardrails on AI technology.

“It’s almost like a constitution, in a way,” Mr. Trump said, surrounded by SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Google’s Sundar Pichai and a host of other tech executives.

Following a lunch meeting at the White HouseMr Johnson said the group had signed a deal on “super intelligence” – Mr Trump’s preferred term for AI. He described it as a “shared commitment” and “statement of principles” that will voluntarily hold companies to “rigorous internal controls.”

Asked if the agreement was binding, Mr. Trump replied: “I think it is morally binding.”

“I think I’m seeing tremendous self-policing, and they understand that they have to self-regulate,” the president later said.

Tech companies have committed to “four layers of checks and audits” to ensure AI models work as intended, including internal assessments, audits by an external company and reviews by each company’s board of directors, according to a copy of the one-page agreement that Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social. They also agreed to “meet regularly to establish standards and best practices to improve the security of their systems.”

“Over time, it may be appropriate to codify these measures into laws or regulations,” the agreement states. “Whether required of businesses or not, we believe that implementing these controls and audits is essential to ensuring a secure future for everyone, and each of our businesses is committed to doing so.”

Mr. Trump said AI executives also discussed forming a 10-person committee to “monitor the company.” And the president said he plans to appoint an “AI czar” in the next three or four days.

Also Tuesday, the president signed an executive order directing the federal government to use the term “superintelligence” instead of artificial intelligence.

The rare meeting between competing tech titans follows months of growing concern from researchers, politicians and industry figures that ever more powerful AI technology could pose security risks.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have reported case of their AI models become malicious and gain unauthorized access to other companies’ systems, or are used for dangerous purposes. And Jacob Coxon, former researcher for both companies, publicly warned earlier this month, AI “could kill us all by the end of the decade.” He argued that AI systems could gain considerable power over the physical world and become capable of improving themselves without human intervention.

Some industry leaders, including executives at Anthropic and OpenAI, have called for a slowdown in AI development to better manage risks. But other figures, like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, having argued some warnings are exaggerated.

Huang said Tuesday that “there is no conflict between innovation, technology and security,” saying technology companies are developing stronger AI security technology as they improve AI capabilities.

Mr. Trump did not support stricter AI regulation, but instead favored voluntary security reviews. He has often warned that a nationwide slowdown in AI could hurt the country’s economy and give China’s tech industry a chance to catch up.

The president told reporters Tuesday that AI would lead to “incredible growth for our country” and that if bad actors sought to exploit it, “we will be able to catch them.” He also said tech companies have an incentive to police themselves and each other because “their businesses are at stake.”

Beyond security concerns, there are also growing concerns about the impact AI could have on the world – from the potential for large-scale job losses to the rapid development of data centers supporting advanced AI models.

As more states and local governments oppose data center development, Trump said communities that accept the facilities will benefit “greatly financially.”

“Data centers are making an absolute fortune. But now people are going to benefit directly, whether it’s teachers getting a bonus, or people who live in the community getting a dividend,” he told CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes.

But lawmakers who favor stricter AI regulation may be skeptical of voluntary standards set by the industry. In a statement shortly after Tuesday’s meeting, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called on Congress to adopt mandatory rules for testing, evaluation and incident reporting for the most advanced AI models.

“The companies building the most powerful AI systems are warning us that the technology is advancing faster than our protective measures,” Warner said. “The president’s response? Rename it and tell the companies developing it to self-regulate.”