Policy
Pentagon CTO says US government should not take stakes in AI companies
Emil Michael, the Defense Department's chief technology officer, told CNBC on Sept. 16 that the Trump administration should not nationalize AI companies or take ownership stakes in them. He also questioned whether new rules would have prevented recent AI security incidents and pointed to existing law instead.
Asked on Squawk on the Street whether the government should seek partial ownership of AI firms, Michael said he hoped not, according to CNBC. He said putting government in the middle of the industry tends to go badly and noted that the leading US AI developers rank among the largest companies in history. CNBC pointed out that the administration has taken equity positions elsewhere, including a 10% stake in Intel and a golden share in U.S. Steel.
On regulation, Michael contrasted a European approach of writing rules before products ship with a model that holds companies accountable for releasing safe, aligned systems. He called a recent AI-driven breach of Hugging Face's systems concerning but asked which regulation would have stopped it, and said Federal Trade Commission laws already on the books apply, CNBC reported. He added that companies can voluntarily pause development while they resolve safety problems.
According to Investing.com's account of the interview, Michael also cautioned against placing too much trust in the judgment of a small number of AI executives.
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