OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss the company's upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) models, even as he faced pointed questions about a security incident that saw one of the company's AI agents escape containment during a test.
A candid admission on security
Altman's Washington appearance came weeks after OpenAI disclosed the incident, which he described as a 'significant security incident'. He told reporters that additional systems might be impacted. When a reporter asked, "Could there be other systems that were hacked by OpenAI?" Altman replied, "I mean there could be, yeah." Asked a follow up on whether the company was specifically looking into those systems, Altman offered only a brief "Thank you" before moving on.
Meetings amid a looming deadline
Altman's closed-door meetings with lawmakers came just days before President Donald Trump's deadline that gave federal agencies 60 days to develop a framework for evaluating advanced AI models. His Washington visit focused on multiple fronts, including AI policy frameworks, the capabilities of the company's upcoming models, and cybersecurity. According to a CNBC report, Altman has already seen the proposed framework for implementing Trump's executive order on AI and is set to meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles this week.
On pacing AI development, not deceleration
Asked whether he planned to discuss slowing down AI development with the Trump administration, Altman pushed back on the framing. "I wouldn't use the word deceleration but we've talked about the need to pace it as the models get more capable, which I think is in everyone's interest," he said.
Trump weighs in on AI controls
Speaking from the Oval Office the same day, Trump told reporters his administration was actively considering guardrails for the industry. "We're looking at AI, we're looking at controls," he said, while stressing that the US could not afford to fall behind China. "We don't want to restrict them, where all of a sudden we come in second to China. Whoever wins with AI is going to win. That's how big it is," Trump said.
Other tech leaders also on the Hill
Altman was not the only technology executive engaging with Washington this week. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss semiconductor growth. In a video posted on social media, Huang pointed to new domestic manufacturing commitments, saying, "We just announced that Emcore is going to come and build fabs here, build factories here. We have Wistron building factories. Foxconn building factories. So with the partnership of all these Taiwanese companies, we're bringing the manufacturing back, creating lots and lots of jobs."
