US President Donald Trump has said he will soon meet the country’s leading artificial intelligence executives and suggested his administration is exploring ways to ensure Americans directly benefit from the enormous wealth being created by the rapidly expanding AI industry.
Speaking at the White House after signing the Secure America Act, Trump described artificial intelligence as the most transformative industry the United States has ever seen and said maintaining America’s lead over China remains a national priority.
“We are leading China by a lot,” Trump said when asked about his upcoming discussions with technology executives. “And whoever leads that is going to really lead the world to a large extent; that’s how big it is.”
The President said he plans to convene a meeting with some of the most influential leaders in the sector in the coming weeks.
“I’m going to have meetings with the top 12 or 15 executives very shortly,” Trump said.
While providing few details, Trump suggested the administration is considering mechanisms that would allow the broader public to share in the economic gains generated by artificial intelligence.
“We’re talking about giving back something to the public,” he said. “And if we do that, the public will become very rich, the people in our country, because that’s the kind of money we’re talking about.”
Trump expressed confidence that technology companies would support such an arrangement.
“And I think they’ll do that, and I think it’ll make it very popular,” he said.
The comments offer a glimpse into how the administration may approach the next phase of AI policy as investment in the sector accelerates and concerns grow over the concentration of wealth among a handful of technology companies.
The President did not elaborate on what form any public participation programme might take, nor did he identify which companies or executives would participate in the planned meeting. The White House has not yet released additional details about the discussions.
