President Donald Trump and leaders from major artificial intelligence companies signed a voluntary agreement on Tuesday to guide the development of powerful AI systems. The accord was announced during a White House meeting that included executives from firms investing heavily in data centers across the country. Trump described the agreement as a form of self-regulation and said it would help maintain U.S. leadership in AI while addressing possible safety risks.
Trump and leading AI executives agreed to voluntary internal controls and outside audits as the White House promoted a light-touch approach to AI oversight.
He emphasized that companies should police themselves and avoid heavy government oversight — calling the pact “almost like a constitution” and “morally binding.” The agreement outlines four layers of voluntary controls and audits for participating firms to follow — including strong internal controls and reviews by independent auditors according to NBC New York. Each company will also have its board review findings from internal and external audits.
Trump said the accord could lead to future laws or regulations but currently focuses on industry-driven safeguards. The initiative comes amid growing scrutiny of AI development and concerns from some executives about AI systems behaving in unintended ways. Executives including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as well as Sundar Pichai and Jensen Huang attended the East Room luncheon before Trump and several participants spoke to reporters on the White House driveway.
Zuckerberg noted that this is just the beginning of a broader effort to build public trust in AI technology.
He said the goal is to give American people and customers confidence that AI works as intended. Trump also defended data centers and said technology companies would make major contributions to communities where the facilities are built. He said the companies would work to make communities happy about the construction of data centers.
The president announced the launch of America.gov during the same event — an AI-enhanced portal that combines information from more than 29,000 government websites. The service is designed to help Americans find government information and access services such as passport renewals and Social Security updates. Trump also said he plans to name someone to lead White House AI policy in the coming days after consulting with other government leaders.
He suggested that a committee of around ten people could monitor AI safety across the sector. The agreement was posted by Trump on his Truth Social platform shortly after the signing. Some industry figures have expressed caution about how to manage AI risks while mechanisms for addressing those concerns are still being discussed.
OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman and other executives were among the signatories of the accord.
Trump’s approach contrasts with global efforts to create international AI governance frameworks as he has rejected broad international efforts to regulate the technology. He has argued that the U.S. should maintain its lead in AI without being constrained by international rules. The White House event was part of a broader push to promote what Trump now calls “super intelligence.”
Earlier in the week OpenAI halted a planned new AI model rollout due to safety concerns — showing growing industry attention to responsible development. OpenAI shelved the planned release of GPT-6.1 Astra after internal testing found that the model did not meet its safety standards. The company has said it is increasing its focus on safety and monitoring as AI systems become more capable.
The U.S. and China recently agreed to establish a communication channel for handling AI-related incidents following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington. The two countries also agreed to create a dialogue on the risks and benefits of advanced AI. Trump has continued to emphasize that the U.S. should remain at the forefront of AI development.
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