Abstract:
According to Business Insider, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concerns to U.S. President Trump about plans to establish a national AI regulatory agency in a previously unreported phone call last month. The move marks the world's top tech executive's involvement in a contentious White House AI policy debate.
Zuckerberg and Trump
The plan to establish an AI regulatory agency in the United States is promoted by Nobel Prize winner and Google DeepMind scientist Demis Hassabis, and has the support of some senior White House officials. The proposal would create an independent agency modeled on the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA is the agency responsible for regulating the securities industry under the supervision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to White House officials' vision, the agency will be responsible for reviewing advanced AI models and testing them for potential risks before they are deployed more widely.
When Trump spoke directly to Zuckerberg the week of August 17, Zuckerberg expressed opposition to the proposal, according to a senior White House official with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Another person familiar with the matter said that Zuckerberg did not ask Trump to change his stance, but told Trump that potential White House appointees to the regulatory agency should reflect Trump’s own stance on AI. Trump is generally believed to support a looser regulatory approach. The person also said that it was Trump who called Zuckerberg first.
White House officials said that before the call, senior White House officials had introduced proposals to establish an industry regulatory agency similar to FINRA to Trump and major technology companies such as Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic in mid-August.
FINRA is an industry-led agency that serves as a frontline regulator in U.S. securities markets, responsible for developing and enforcing new rules for broker-dealer firms. FINRA reports to the SEC and its board of directors includes representatives from FINRA member firms. This self-regulatory organization oversees more than 3,000 financial companies, which also provide financial support to the agency.
While future AI industry regulators may be tasked with reviewing new AI models, FINRA has little involvement in approving new investment products.
The idea of an AI regulator was popularized by Hassabis. In an article in July, he suggested that the United States should set up a new "standards agency" modeled on FINRA to deal with AI risks such as emerging cybersecurity threats. Hassabis introduced the idea to White House officials this summer, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. Google did not respond to a request for comment.
A Meta spokesman declined to comment. A White House spokesperson said in a statement: "The Trump administration is committed to achieving a balance between innovation and safety in AI policymaking."
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