Tech giants Musk, Zuckerberg and Huang urge Trump to reject new AI rules
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly lobbied President Donald Trump to oppose fresh federal AI regulations.
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang are said to have approached President Donald Trump to persuade him not to adopt additional federal regulations for artificial intelligence. Their lobbying came after Google DeepMind researcher Demis Hassabis and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei advocated for a new agency to monitor AI safety. Trump has publicly dismissed AI safety worries as a hoax on his social platform, arguing that heavy restrictions would benefit China.
Musk proposed an industry-led system where competing firms review each other's advanced AI before release. Huang maintained that current legislation is sufficient and rejected the need for new safety laws. The effort reflects ongoing tension between tech executives and policymakers over how to manage emerging AI risks.
Why it matters
The lobbying could shape U.S. AI policy, affecting safety oversight and global tech competition.
How this story developed
- Jul 28 AI leaders urge U.S. to back global framework for slowing automated AI progress
- Sep 14 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay urging U.S. restrictions, prompting a Chinese foreign‑ministry rebuttal.
- Sep 14 Senators Bernie Sanders and Greg Cezar introduced legislation criminalizing the development of artificial superintelligence with penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
- Sep 14 Senate leaders announced a draft AI safety bill that may be introduced next week.
- Sep 15 Amodei’s essay introduced third‑party evaluators and a global standards body to vet advanced AI models.
- Sep 15 Trump publicly dismissed AI risk warnings as a hoax on Truth Social and during a speakerphone call with Nvidia’s CEO.
- Sep 15 President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping are slated to meet later in September to address AI governance.
- Sep 15 The Global Dialogue on AI Governance has now highlighted AI’s impact on voter registration and results management.
- Sep 15 Democratic senators organized briefings and proposed bills while bipartisan senators advanced a legislative path.
- Sep 15 President Donald Trump rejected the CEOs' appeals and senior Republicans signaled reluctance, while Senator John Kennedy introduced a “kill switch” proposal.
- Sep 15 China’s security ministry released a notice warning that generative AI tools are being weaponised by hostile forces.
- Sep 15 Trump and Xi are unlikely to agree to an AI slowdown at the upcoming summit.
- Sep 16 Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun called for multilateral AI cooperation at the Xiangshan Forum and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified on maintaining America’s tech edge.
- Sep 17 President Donald Trump met President Xi Jinping in Washington to discuss AI safety.
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