WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 – The meeting of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with CEOs of technology companies on artificial intelligence, on Tuesday, will focus on finding a balance between innovation and oversight, said the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, as the federal government seeks to define its role in this expanding technology.
‘We do not need a moratorium. We do not need to intervene and overregulate this, because we will lose the race to China,’ Johnson said in an interview Monday on Fox Business Network. ‘Innovation is important and must continue, but we have to find the right balance. It’s about that that we will talk.’
The White House meeting, which will include Johnson’s presence, comes at a time when leading AI companies are calling for a slowdown in the development of increasingly sophisticated AI systems, warning of risks to humanity and urging governments to work together in managing this increasingly powerful technology.
Trump downplayed concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence to the detriment of people, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of maintaining the United States’ competitive edge over China. He says the U.S. already has protection mechanisms for this powerful technology, including in the Department of Justice.
Johnson said the United States must be vigilant about safety, but not block the development of the technology. ‘I think the Department of Justice may have a role to play if things go wrong. But what we need before we get to that point is transparency and some oversight,’ he said on the ‘Mornings with Fox Business’ program.
Lawmakers from both parties questioned Trump’s non-intervention approach, even as the technology raises fears about safety, job loss, and the concentration of power in a handful of tech companies.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that industry leaders in AI were pleading for some government action and that Congress has the responsibility to protect the American people.
‘Therefore, when it comes to AI safety, it certainly seems to me that we need to strive boldly and responsibly—now,’ Jeffries told CNBC on Monday.
The president dined with Anthropic’s chief executive officer, Dario Amodei, on Sunday.
Anthropic and its competitors have advocated slowing the development of AI. Among them are OpenAI, Google’s DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI.
