Pentagon CTO says U.S. government shouldn't take stakes in tech giants, questions adding AI regs

Pentagon CTO says Trump admin shouldn't take stakes in tech giants Skip Navigation Markets Business Investing Tech Politics & Policy Video Watchlist Investing Club PRO Livestream Menu Key Points Top Pentagon technology official Emil Michael said the Trump administration shouldn't seek to nationalize or take government stakes in artificial intelligence companies. Michael, in an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," also repeatedly signaled opposition to ramping up government regulatory oversight of those companies, echoing President Donald Trump. AI leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have warned the industry should slow its fast-improving models to mitigate risks. In this article NPSA-FF NPSA-FF Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 5:04 05:04 AI companies partnering with political leaders for regulation is dangerous, says DoD's Emil Michael Squawk on the Street The top Pentagon technology official said Wednesday the Trump administration shouldn't seek to nationalize or take partial government stakes in artificial intelligence companies. "I hope not," Emil Michael, Department of Defense chief technology officer, told CNBC's " Squawk on the Street " when asked about that prospect of partial government ownership, which has emerged amid growing concerns about rapid AI advancement. Despite its frequent warnings about the dangers of big-government socialism, President Donald Trump 's second administration has taken stakes in a growing portfolio of private-sector companies, including a 10% stake in Intel and a " golden share " in U.S. Steel, now a subsidiary of Nippon Steel . But when it comes to AI, Michael told CNBC, "We don't want government to get in the middle." "That doesn't really go well in terms of nationalization," he said, noting that U.S. AI leaders are among the "biggest companies in the history of the world." Michael also repeatedly signaled opposition to ramping up government regulatory oversight of those companies, even as AI leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have warned the industry should slow its fast-improving models to mitigate risks. Read more CNBC politics and policy coverage Trump says Kennedy Center will stay closed unless his name is added back Iran war has cost on average $246 million per day in its first five months: CBO Republican Rep. Massie seeks Hegseth’s impeachment over Iran Trump calls Supreme Court mail ballot ruling ‘big loss for Republicans’ "This is the the sort of tension you get between people who want to pre-regulate like Europe, and those who want to hold companies responsible for good products being developed that are aligned and safe, not releasing them until they have those dimensions in them," he said. He acknowledged that the recent example of the AI hack of Hugging Face is "concerning," but added, "I don't know what kind of regulation would stop that from happening." At the same time, he said it would be "dangerous" to place all trust in the hands of a few AI chiefs. "I think we're going to make sure that all the laws are enforced," Michael said, noting there are already "a ton of laws on the book from the Federal Trade Commission." Trump, whose administration strongly supports the rapid growth of AI and data centers in an effort to box out China, has angrily pushed back on the calls for an AI slowdown or greater regulation. The president accused those raising alarms of pushing a "hoax" and a "scam." Michael agreed with Trump and other administration officials that there is a "coordinated campaign to scare people to make irrational decisions that benefit some of these incumbents" in AI. Michael suggested that those developing new tech could voluntarily "just stop some of these things until they figure it out." "The promoters of some of these extinction, death-cult-like philosophies are part of that effort," he said. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.