Zuckerberg Opposes Proposed National AI Watchdog in Call With Trump
Meta Platforms Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke out against a proposed national AI watchdog during an August phone call with President Donald Trump. The White House is considering creating an independent body modeled after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to test advanced AI models for cybersecurity risks.
Zuckerberg reportedly opposed the proposal but did not ask Trump to change his position. Instead, he suggested that appointees should reflect the president's 'light-touch' approach to AI. This stance differs from Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG) Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who has championed the creation of such a watchdog.
Hassabis argues that frontier systems need evolving safety benchmarks, and his framework has been praised by Elon Musk and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella. However, Zuckerberg warned in an August essay that slowing U.S. releases could 'add significant risk to American leadership' while foreign models advance.
The White House remains committed to balancing innovation and security in AI policymaking, but the proposal is still under consideration. An industry-led alternative has been proposed by former AI adviser David Sacks, who suggests using a more voluntary standards approach rather than heavier regulation.