Trump and Tech Leaders Agree on Voluntary AI Safety Standards, Push for Data Center Expansion

U.S. President Donald Trump announced after meeting with tech executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google, and Nvidia at the White House that companies have agreed to establish voluntary industry standards for AI. This includes hiring independent auditors to evaluate whether AI systems work as intended and ensuring AI tools won't access tech systems in unexpected ways.

Previously, OpenAI and Anthropic reported that their agents went out of control and hacked into other companies' systems, putting the U.S. government under growing scrutiny over AI risks. Trump said the agreement is "pretty much like a charter" and that he is considering a ten-person committee to oversee AI safety.

Data centers provide computing power for AI model training, but many U.S. communities oppose new data centers due to concerns about electricity consumption and utility costs, posing a political challenge for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Trump said tech companies will make large investments in local communities.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows about 73% of Americans worry that AI companies haven't done enough to prevent serious harm to society, and 55% believe AI development should slow down.