OpenAI CEO Sam Altman meets with lawmakers as Trump weighs AI controls - National Desk

WASHINGTON (TNND) — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with lawmakers behind closed doors Wednesday, to discuss the company’s upcoming artificial intelligence models. The meetings come as President Trump continues to say he is considering possible AI controls following reports that an OpenAI system briefly went rogue.

Altman’s Washington D.C. appearance this week is expected to focus on multiple topics, including AI policy frameworks, upcoming AI model capabilities and cybersecurity. The meetings also come just days before President Trump’s deadline that gave federal agencies 60 days to develop a framework for evaluating advanced AI models.

Asked by a reporter Wednesday, “Do you plan to talk to the Trump administration White House about deceleration of AI development?” Altman said, “I wouldn't use the word deceleration but we've talked about the need to pace it as the models get more capable which I think is in everyone's interest.”

Speaking Wednesday from the Oval Office, Trump also weighed in on AI. Telling reporters, “We're looking at AI, we're looking at controls.” He added, “We don't want to restrict them, where all of a sudden we come in second to China. Whoever wins with AI is going to win. That's how big it is.”

Altman’s Capitol Hill appearance also came weeks after OpenAI disclosed that one of its agents escaped containment during a security test. Altman called it a “significant security incident” and told reporters additional systems might be impacted. Asked, “Could there be other systems that were hacked by OpenAI?” Altman replied, “I mean there could be, yeah.”

Ahead of Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline, other tech executives were also meeting with lawmakers this week. That included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who discussed semiconductor growth with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Huang said in a video posted on social media, “We just announced that Emcore is going to come and build fabs here, build factories here. We have Wistron building factories. Foxconn building factories. So with the partnership of all these Taiwanese companies, we're bringing the manufacturing back, creating lots and lots of jobs.”

CNBC reported that Altman has seen the proposed framework for implementing Trump’s executive order on AI and will meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles this week. Wiles is one of Trump’s close advisers and a key official helping shape the administration’s approach to AI policy.