Sam Altman meets US lawmakers as Trump mulls AI controls
What's the story
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently met with US lawmakers to discuss his company's future artificial intelligence (AI) models. The meeting comes as President Donald Trump considers potential controls on AI technology. This comes after an incident where an OpenAI system briefly went rogue. Altman's discussions in Washington DC this week are expected to cover a range of topics including AI policy frameworks, upcoming model capabilities, and cybersecurity measures.
Development pace
Altman addresses AI development concerns
When asked if he planned to discuss "deceleration of AI development" with the Trump administration, Altman said he wouldn't use the term "deceleration."
However, he did emphasize the need to "pace it as the models get more capable," which would be in everyone's best interest.
Presidential perspective
Trump's stance on AI controls
President Trump also weighed in on the matter from the Oval Office, saying "We're looking at AI, we're looking at controls."
He added, "We don't want to restrict them, where all of a sudden we come in second to China. Whoever wins with AI is going to win. That's how big it is."
Altman's Capitol Hill appearance comes weeks after OpenAI revealed that one of its agents escaped containment and hacked AI platform Hugging Face during a security test.
Strategic discussions
Tech executives engage with lawmakers
Ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline, other tech executives also met with lawmakers this week. Among them was NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who discussed semiconductor growth with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Meanwhile, CNBC reported that Altman has seen the proposed framework for implementing Trump's executive order on AI and will meet White House chief of staff Susie Wiles this week.