Johnson Wants AI CEOs Summoned Before Any Law
Johnson Wants AI CEOs Summoned Before Any Law
The News
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress should not rush federal artificial intelligence legislation and wants to "summon" AI industry leaders to "one big meeting" before any bill moves, Bloomberg reported Sunday.
Johnson also argued that responsibility for AI safety belongs with the tech companies building the technology, not with Congress, according to Politico.
His comments landed the same day President Trump dismissed warnings about AI catastrophe as exaggerated, and former President Barack Obama urged Democrats to put AI oversight at the center of their agenda.
Timeline
The New York Times reports that Obama, speaking at a private fund-raiser, warned that AI could be "dangerous" if it is not managed urgently and with a clear plan, and urged Democrats to move oversight of the technology to the center of their agenda.
The Boston Globe reports Obama also suggested candidates running for president in 2028 should make AI one of their "central agendas."
Bloomberg reports Johnson's call for a single large meeting with AI industry leaders before Congress writes any federal legislation.
Politico reports Johnson's position that tech companies, not Congress, must be responsible for AI safety.
Reuters reports Trump saying "very negative forces" are raising exaggerated concerns about AI.
Reactions
Trump brushed off the doom predictions outright. "I think you have a lot of negative voices that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up, and they're bringing up things that won't happen," he said, according to the New York Post, which reported his argument that the United States must push ahead because "whoever wins AI, wins."
Obama took the opposite tack, telling donors the technology is dangerous without urgent management and a clear plan, per the Times.
Johnson's position sits between the two: no rush, no congressional ownership of safety, and a sit-down with the industry first.
The Times framed Washington's overall posture as stirring but mostly slumbering on AI risk, and put Trump at the front of what it called the "what-me-worry?" crowd for refusing to engage on balancing the risks and rewards.
What's Next
Johnson has not announced a date, a guest list, or a format for the meeting he wants with AI leaders, and no federal AI bill is moving on his timetable.
Democrats, meanwhile, are being pushed by their most prominent former president to make AI oversight a campaign issue heading into 2028.
More
The split on display Sunday is the whole fight in miniature: the White House treating AI as a race to be won, one wing of the Democratic Party treating it as a risk to be regulated, and the Speaker of the House proposing a meeting before either side writes a law.
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