Key facts
- President Donald Trump met privately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.
- 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.
- A former AI researcher accused OpenAI and Anthropic of acting irresponsibly.
- Altman stated 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."
The president has consistently argued that regulation should not impede AI innovation. Shortly after returning to office in January 2025, he revoked a Biden-era directive that set parameters around the technology. In December, he signed an executive order that would establish a federal framework to create a national standard and preempt state regulation, stating that to win the AI race, "United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation." In June, Trump signed a second order directing the federal government to work with AI developers on a voluntary framework that would give the government access to new models for up to 30 days before their release. Altman voiced support for this executive order at the time, writing on X that the U.S. should keep building the "very best" AI models and make sure they are "safe."
A White House official confirmed that the framework was completed by its Aug. 1 deadline, and the administration convened AI companies the following day to discuss it. A person familiar with the meeting confirmed that Anthropic attended. No readout was released, and the White House has not made the finalized framework public. Trump and Altman were last seen together publicly in June at a Group of Seven working lunch with world leaders and technology executives, where they sat next to each other.