Trump Team Tells AI Labs to Slow Themselves Down

The Trump administration has told artificial intelligence lab leaders that any industry-wide slowdown must be self-imposed. This stance comes as top executives, including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, call for government intervention to regulate AI and pace its development.

Amodei made his case in a Saturday essay, which received public endorsements from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who owns the Grok chatbot. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also called for controlled development. Their push follows a week where researchers voiced escalating concerns about AI's rapid advance and associated risks.

Calls for Regulation and Coordination

In his essay, Anthropic's CEO requested that the US government enable competing AI firms to collaborate on safety standards without violating antitrust laws. He suggested either official participation in discussions or the issuance of legal waivers. Amodei also advocated for government help in establishing international coordination, including with China.

The proposal found a skeptical audience within the Trump administration. David Sacks, co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, responded on social media platform X. He told lab leaders to stop pretending they need permission to act responsibly.

"If the unreleased models are scary enough that you think you should slow down, I support your decision to be responsible," Sacks wrote. "But stop pretending you need anyone else's permission. Stop pretending antitrust law has to be suspended so you can form a cartel..."

The China Competition Factor

A major factor in the US government's resistance to slowdowns is the fear of losing its technological edge to China. President Donald Trump emphasized this point during a visit to Ireland, stating that the US is leading in AI and must maintain that position.

"You have a lot of very negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen," Trump said. "We’re leading China on AI, and, frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins."

This view was echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who warned that hasty regulation could cede the race to China. He described China's AI ecosystem as an economic and national security threat.

Voluntary Steps and Third-Party Oversight

With government-led coordination off the table for now, companies are proposing voluntary measures. On Sunday, OpenAI's Sam Altman committed to a specific proposal from Amodei. It involves granting embedded third-party evaluators employee-level access to AI firms to audit safety practices and report incidents.

Altman acknowledged these steps would incur significant costs but argued they were necessary. He wrote that pacing development would be worth the expense, adding that "no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness."

The debate highlights a core tension in AI governance. However, the current political climate prioritizes maintaining a competitive advantage, leaving the onus for safety pacing squarely on the labs themselves.