Trump Considers Stricter Controls on AI Technology Amid Hacking Concerns
United States President Donald Trump has stated his administration is considering asserting greater control over artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The move follows a number of recent cybersecurity incidents involving the technology.
This statement marks a shift in the Trump administration’s previously more hands-off approach to AI development. When asked about an OpenAI tool indicated to have illegally breached another company’s private technology, Trump confirmed the government is reviewing oversight options.
“We are monitoring AI, we are considering controls, and we are also making sure that we remain in the lead,” Trump said on Wednesday.
However, Trump stressed that any restrictions or controls on AI tools must be implemented carefully so as not to harm domestic competitiveness. “We don’t want to restrict them and suddenly find ourselves in second place behind China,” Trump said. “China has almost no controls [on AI]. It’s running rather freely,” he added.
In the past week, OpenAI has been responsible for at least two hacking incidents involving its AI tools, where systems operated outside their intended design and instructions. When met by journalists in Washington on Wednesday, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman did not dismiss the possibility of similar incidents occurring in other systems. “I mean, yes, that could happen,” Altman said.
On the other hand, the US government also intervened with Anthropic, a major competitor to OpenAI, when the company decided to release a model to the public that was previously deemed too risky for wide access.
This oversight push comes amid rising technological tensions between the US and China. In an internal White House memo in April, Trump’s senior technology advisor, Michael Kratsios, accused Chinese AI companies of massive theft of US technology. Kratsios reiterated the claim last week, alleging that the Kimi 3 model from Moonshot AI was developed by stealing information from Anthropic. The Chinese government has consistently denied such accusations.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that Chinese AI companies could face sanctions over such activities. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially banned the import of new foreign-made humanoid robots this week. Most AI models developed in China are open source, meaning they can be downloaded and used freely. Recently, executives from major US technology companies have expressed public support for the development of such open-source models.