US President Trump launches voluntary AI safety pact with tech firms

President Donald Trump announced a voluntary “White House Accord on Super Intelligence” on Tuesday, urging leading artificial‑intelligence companies to self‑police their systems.

The accord was signed by executives from Meta, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, xAI and Anthropic. It requires firms to put in place four layers of internal control, establish a dedicated team to oversee those controls, work with independent external auditors and create an independent board committee to review the results.

While the agreement is not legally binding and carries no penalties for non‑compliance, it leaves open the possibility that the measures could later be codified into law or regulation. Trump described the pact as “morally binding” and highlighted a “tremendous self‑policing aspect”.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai praised the accord on social media, saying it provides “real tangible steps to promote safe development” while preserving economic and scientific benefits. The move comes despite calls from some signatories for mandatory government‑led safety standards, including OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Congressional proposals, such as the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar, seek stricter regulation, but the White House is currently promoting industry‑led safeguards.

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: On Shot / Pexels.