US President Donald Trump and leaders of major technology companies have signed a voluntary agreement focused on AI safety, while Trump reiterated his support for the continued expansion of data centres needed to power increasingly advanced AI systems.
The agreement was announced after Trump met technology executives at the White House on September 29. Under the pact, participating companies agreed to work with independent auditors to assess whether their AI systems operate as intended. They also committed to measures designed to prevent AI tools from accessing or interfering with technical systems in unintended ways.
Executives attending the meeting included OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Zuckerberg said the companies had agreed to develop “robust internal controls” for their AI systems. Trump also said he was considering creating a 10-member board to oversee AI safety, although he did not identify potential members.
The pact comes as concerns grow around increasingly autonomous AI systems. Recent incidents involving AI agents from major developers have raised questions about whether advanced systems can remain within intended safeguards when carrying out complex tasks.
Trump also continued to support rapid data centre construction, which is driving demand for electricity and other infrastructure. Data centre projects have faced opposition in several US communities over concerns about power demand, utility costs and local impacts.
Trump said technology companies would work to provide benefits to communities hosting data centres. He also said companies involved in the expansion could make significant contributions to local communities.
Public concern over AI safety remains substantial. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from September 17 to 20 found that 73% of respondents believed AI companies had not done enough to prevent AI from causing serious harm to society, while 55% said slowing AI development would be beneficial.
The White House meeting also highlighted the administration’s changing terminology around advanced technology. On the same day, Trump signed an executive order directing US executive agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official communications and other non-statutory documents.
The administration also announced a new government AI tool during a separate event attended by technology executives and investors. Trump said the tool would make government services easier to access, while claiming it could not, “in theory, be hacked into” without providing evidence.
The latest developments bring together 2 major aspects of the administration’s technology policy: voluntary safety measures for increasingly capable AI systems and continued investment in the infrastructure required to develop and operate them.
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