Key facts
- President Donald Trump met privately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Republican National Convention.
- Sam Altman requested the meeting, which focused on artificial intelligence and its growing power.
- Altman believes slowing AI development is necessary for safety and alignment.
- Trump advocates for innovation without "cumbersome regulation" and dismisses AI guardrails.
- OpenAI will delay its public offering this year due to safety concerns.
President Donald Trump met privately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backstage at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, according to a report by MS Now citing three people familiar with the meeting. Altman had requested the meeting, which focused on artificial intelligence and its growing power.
The meeting occurred days after a former safety researcher for OpenAI and its rival Anthropic publicly accused both companies of acting irresponsibly and "gambling with our lives."
In the days following the meeting, Trump and Altman expressed differing views on AI development. Altman posted on Sunday night that slowing the pace of AI development "will be well worth this cost; no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring." He also stated that OpenAI will delay its public offering this year due to safety concerns. Altman, along with Elon Musk and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, argued over the weekend that AI development needs to slow before the technology outpaces human control.
Trump, however, struck a different note. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, he dismissed the idea of AI guardrails, stating that the only control the technology requires is a strong and smart president. He also posted that regulating the industry would lead to "oblivion and bankruptcy," and called AI "the greatest economic development engine in history."
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that there cannot be a moratorium on artificial intelligence development without losing the competitive edge to China and that AI companies can regulate themselves. "They can self-regulate. They don't need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should," Johnson told reporters. "We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI, Ok? Because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for every American family."
Johnson said he was sure AI would be a topic of discussion between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in Washington later this month.