US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that major US artificial intelligence companies would publicly “contribute” to the country, providing few details but fueling speculation about the government’s expanding role in the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday morning, President Trump said that tech companies that are “making huge profits” are “serving the people of our country.”
“We’re going to put up guardrails…you know that. [AI] It can be used for very good things. And most of it is good, but some of it is bad,” he said.
President Trump has suggested that discussions are underway within his administration over such public “donations,” telling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, “You know what I’m talking about,” but declining to explain what form it would take.
The remarks came weeks after the Trump administration increased scrutiny of cutting-edge AI companies, reflecting growing concerns about national security and China’s access to cutting-edge American technology.
Last month, the company issued an emergency export control order forcing Claude model developer Anthropic to suspend worldwide access to its latest flagship models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5.
President Trump’s comments could also fuel speculation after last week’s Financial Times report that ChatGPT developer OpenAI offered to give the U.S. government a 5% stake as part of talks aimed at lowering political hurdles.
The proposal could prompt other major AI companies to make similar proposals, the newspaper reported, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
Neither Trump nor the White House said whether Monday’s remarks referred to that proposal or another mechanism.
President Trump added that Anthropic’s response to the administration’s export control measures, which led to the redeployment of the company’s flagship models last week, was “excellent.”
“The bad things have to stop. But this is a huge industry and I think things will continue to happen,” he said.
U.S. AI companies have come under intense scrutiny in Washington, amid mounting public opposition and growing concerns that AI could harm jobs and society.
This has led to calls for AI companies to share their profits with the broader public, with US Sen. Bernie Sanders introducing a bill last month that would require major US AI companies to pay a stock tax equal to half of their stock tax.
OpenAI and Anthropic are both gearing up for blockbuster listings, with current private market valuations of USD 852 billion and USD 965 billion, respectively.
President Trump on Monday hinted at further government intervention in the AI industry, but also emphasized his full support for defeating China in the two countries’ escalating tech war, highlighting the challenge of deregulating both the domestic AI and cryptocurrency industries.
“We are far ahead of China in the AI field,” he said. “We are leading everyone. It’s the same with cryptocurrencies. If we don’t do it, China will.” — South China Morning Post
