Trump and House Speaker Johnson to Convene Tech CEOs for AI Meeting

US President Donald Trump and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson are scheduled to meet with technology industry leaders on September 29 to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. The meeting, which was first reported by Axios, comes amid intensifying pressure on Washington to establish a regulatory framework for frontier AI companies as the technology continues to advance rapidly.

The upcoming session follows a period of heightened concern from major AI developers, who have recently issued warnings regarding the potential risks the technology poses to humanity. Leaders from firms including OpenAI and Anthropic have publicly called for global cooperation to manage the development of increasingly powerful systems. Despite these industry appeals, the legislative path forward remains uncertain. While there has been growing pressure on Congress to intervene, the House of Representatives has adjourned until after the upcoming midterm elections.

President Trump has consistently downplayed the existential risks associated with AI, recently dismissing warnings about the technology destroying humanity as a hoax and a conspiracy. During his address at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Trump stated that he rejects any globalist scheme to control AI, though he acknowledged the technology is amazing and noted that the United States would proceed with caution. His administration has signaled a preference against new, AI-specific regulations, contrasting sharply with the approach taken by China, which has implemented rules governing training data and requiring clear labeling for AI-generated content.

Speaker Johnson has expressed support for the meeting, describing it as a deliberate discussion regarding the responsibility of companies to maintain safety and the potential role of government oversight. This engagement follows Trump's recent announcement that he intends to create a new AI Force and appoint an AI czar to oversee the sector. The White House has not yet provided further details regarding the specific agenda or the list of participating executives for the September 29 meeting.

The announcement regarding the new force omitted specific information regarding its exact organizational design, legal authority, or official scope of work.