Trump and Major AI Executives Sign Voluntary Safety Controls

Summary

President Donald Trump and leaders of major artificial intelligence companies signed a voluntary safety accord after a White House lunch, with Trump calling it “morally binding” and comparing it to a constitution. The one-page statement describes a joint commitment to robust internal controls for what the administration calls “super intelligence.” Companies agreed to four layers of controls and audits: internal evaluations, review by an external firm, and oversight by each company’s board, along with regular meetings to develop safety standards and best practices. The accord says these measures could eventually be codified into law or regulation, but it does not impose legal obligations. Trump said the group also discussed a 10-person committee to oversee the sector, and he said he planned to name an AI czar within three or four days. On the same day, he signed an executive order directing the federal government to use “Super Intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence.” The meeting followed warnings that increasingly capable systems could gain unauthorized access, be used for dangerous purposes, or eventually act with less human control; OpenAI and Anthropic have reported incidents involving their models, while some industry leaders have called for slower development. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang argued that innovation and safety can advance together. Trump continues to favor voluntary reviews, saying stricter rules or a national slowdown could hurt economic growth and help China’s technology industry catch up. The agreement also comes amid concerns about job losses and the expansion of AI data centers. Trump said communities that accept data centers could benefit financially, while Democratic Senator Mark Warner called for mandatory testing, evaluation, and incident-reporting rules for the most advanced models, criticizing the administration for asking companies to regulate themselves.