President Donald Trump is putting more responsibility on artificial intelligence companies to police themselves as the technology becomes more powerful and increasingly woven into everyday life.
Trump met with some of the AI industry’s biggest players at the White House on Tuesday, where he announced a new voluntary safety agreement aimed at encouraging companies to develop advanced systems responsibly without imposing sweeping new federal regulations.
“In order to build a positive future for the American people and the world, we believe every company is responsible for developing its own technology safely and in a way that builds trust with customers and the public,” the agreement says.
Under the plan, participating companies are committing to internal safeguards as well as outside reviews while developing increasingly capable AI systems.
Trump made clear that self-regulation is a major part of his administration’s approach.
“Well, there’s a belief that there should be tremendous self-regulation, and we automatically have regulation with the Department of Justice, the FBI, all of that,” Trump said. “But the self-regulation is very important.”
Trump described the agreement as “morally binding” and said he plans to name someone to oversee the effort.
Democrats say voluntary safeguards aren't enough
The White House approach falls short of the mandatory protections some lawmakers and AI experts have sought as concerns grow about the potential risks posed by increasingly autonomous systems.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., argued Tuesday that relying on technology companies to police themselves is not enough.
Warner called on the Senate to require safety testing and incident reporting for the most advanced AI systems, warning that future AI agents could potentially cause serious disruptions if adequate safeguards are not in place.
“Are we really going to trust the industry to self-police on something that goes beyond what is happening?” Warner said. “I’m not an AI doomer, but the ability to have these AI agents take over, shut down part of the financial system is real. We should heed the call from the experts.”
The disagreement highlights a growing debate in Washington over how aggressively the federal government should regulate AI. While there is broad interest in keeping the United States at the forefront of the technology, lawmakers remain divided over how much government oversight is needed to address its potential dangers.
Trump launches America.gov
Trump's AI push Tuesday extended beyond the private sector.
Earlier in the day, the president launched America.gov, an AI-powered federal portal intended to eventually serve as a central location for Americans looking for government information and services.
“With America.gov, the federal government no longer stands in your way, and it stands only at your service,” Trump said. “And that’s what we’re doing. We’re simplifying it. We’re glamorizing it. We’re making it what it should be.”
Trump also signed an executive order directing federal agencies to begin integrating their public-facing services into America.gov within 90 days.
The site's capabilities are limited for now, with users able to search for government information through the portal. The administration's longer-term goal is much more ambitious.
Eventually, Americans could be able to complete government transactions through the site, including renewing passports or enrolling in Medicare.
Together, the voluntary safety agreement and America.gov rollout show the Trump administration pursuing two sides of its AI strategy at once: encouraging private companies to take greater responsibility for the technology they build while expanding the federal government's own use of AI.
