Pentagon CTO Opposes U.S. Stakes in AI Firms, Rejecting New Rules Despite Rising Risk Warnings
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Sep 16
Pentagon CTO Opposes U.S. Stakes in AI Firms, Rejecting New Rules Despite Rising Risk Warnings
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 16
Summary
Emil Michael said the Trump administration should neither nationalize AI companies nor take partial stakes in them, arguing Wednesday that government should not “get in the middle” of the sector.
Michael also pushed back on new AI-specific regulation, saying existing laws — including FTC authorities — should be enforced instead of adopting a more preemptive European-style regime.
His comments came even as AI leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urge slower model rollouts and after a recent Hugging Face hack that Michael called concerning but not clearly preventable through regulation.
The stance aligns with Trump’s broader push to accelerate AI and data-center growth to outcompete China, despite the administration already taking a 10% Intel stake and a golden share in U.S. Steel.