Trump, tech leaders sign White House AI accord on super intelligence

US President Donald Trump and leaders of some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, have signed a voluntary agreement aimed at strengthening safeguards around the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The White House Accord on Super Intelligence, also called the Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities, was signed at a White House meeting on September 29. The agreement focuses on establishing safeguards as companies develop increasingly capable AI systems.

Trump described the accord as a form of protection against the risks associated with advanced AI. “It’s almost like a constitution, in a way,” Trump said. “And the biggest people in the world signed that, and I signed it as president. And it really is a form of protection.”

The accord is voluntary and does not create a legally binding regulatory framework. It calls on participating companies to put in place internal controls to monitor their AI models during training and deployment, conduct safety evaluations and work with independent external auditors.

The agreement also calls for companies to have internal teams overseeing these safeguards, independent external audits and board-level committees to review findings from internal and external assessments.

The companies are expected to work together to develop standards and best practices for the safe development of advanced AI systems. The safeguards are intended to address risks including cybersecurity, biosecurity, chemical threats and unintended access to technical systems.

Trump backs AI industry self-regulation

Trump said there should be greater self-regulation within the technology industry while government agencies continue to exercise their existing authority. “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. But the self-regulation is very important,” Trump said.

The meeting also covered the expansion of AI data centres and the impact they could have on local communities, particularly in terms of infrastructure and energy requirements.

“They love our country, and they’re going to work with local communities for the data centers in particular,” Trump said. “These big, powerful, very rich, very smart companies are going to be making massive contributions to communities,” he added.

Trump also discussed the possibility of creating a 10-member board to oversee AI safety and said he would appoint an official to lead AI policy at the White House.

What tech leaders said about AI safety

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the agreement would establish internal controls and multiple layers of oversight to identify problems with AI systems.“We drafted a set of principles and commitments around building robust internal controls and detecting if there are any issues with the technology,” Zuckerberg said. He also said the measures could give people greater confidence in the technology being developed by AI companies.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said innovation and safety could be pursued together. “There’s no conflict between innovation, technology and safety. We are going to have to create new technologies to advance the capabilities of AI, but we’re also creating new technologies that best the safety of all of this,” Huang said.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also highlighted the potential benefits of AI. “I will say what I’ve always said, which is that AI has incredible benefits,” Amodei said.

Sundar Pichai says Google invested hundreds of billions in two years

Following the meeting, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company had invested hundreds of billions of dollars over the past two years across its technology stack, with more investment to come.

In a post on X, Pichai said, “Great to meet today with @POTUS, @JDVance, @SpeakerJohnson and Administration + tech leaders. Important conversation and we signed today the White House Accord on Super Intelligence.”

Pichai said Google was working to develop AI products that provide value to consumers and businesses while investing in local communities and building trust in the technology. “We’re working to build products that deliver real value for people and businesses, invest in local communities, and build trust in the technology,” he wrote.

He also outlined Google’s approach to AI safety, saying the company was focused on testing and evaluating its models before releasing them. “Google’s focused on building the right way, with appropriate testing, evaluations, red-teaming, and other safeguards against misuse and misalignment – and releasing models or products only after they’ve been thoroughly reviewed,” Pichai said.

Pichai added that Google would work with other technology companies to establish common norms around AI safety. “The White House Accord and the Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities signed today is a solid basis for moving forward - it contains real tangible steps to promote safe development, while delivering the economic and scientific benefits of this technology,” he wrote.