‘Summon everybody’: Mike Johnson calls AI leaders for talks as ‘end of humanity’ warnings grow

WASHINGTON, DC: House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday, September 13, called for leading artificial intelligence companies, Congress and the White House to meet and agree on safety measures as concerns grow over increasingly capable AI systems.

Johnson said that the US cannot pause development because China could gain an advantage, but argued that AI companies must take responsibility for making their products safe.

Mike Johnson urges AI leaders, Congress to address safety

Speaking on CNN’s 'State of the Union,' Johnson said lawmakers need to move quickly to establish the right balance between AI safety and continued American development.

“We have to do this right, safely and wisely,” Johnson said, calling for AI leaders, Congress and the White House to come together as soon as possible to “figure out what the right balance is.”

Johnson said he would support meeting with major AI executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. 

He said he would meet with the three executives Monday if possible and suggested the group should also meet at the White House.

“We’ve got to summon everybody together,” Johnson said. “I’ve talked to the president about this as well. They probably should be summoned together at the White House. And I think we need to go in a big room, close the door and sort this out. And I’ll be the one pushing for it.”

Johnson said Congress has already established some AI guardrails and emphasized that technology companies have a responsibility for the safety of the systems they develop.

“There is an obvious corporate responsibility that the people who are creating these models have to ensure that their products are safe,” Johnson said.

He also outlined his position in a post on X, saying Congress has been studying AI through a bipartisan task force established after he became speaker.

“The key is designing the guardrails carefully, in a way that prevents any harm from AI, while also preserving American innovation and our national security by keeping our edge over China,” Johnson wrote.

Trump and Democrats clash over AI safeguards

Executives and researchers have been consistently raising concerns about the pace of AI development recently. Amodei, Musk and Altman recently urged the industry to slow the development of advanced AI models.

The calls followed the departure of researchers from AI companies who warned that increasingly capable systems “could kill us all by the end of the decade.”

Johnson rejected calls for a broad moratorium, arguing that slowing US development could allow China to overtake the country in the technology race.

President Donald Trump has similarly emphasized the need for the United States to maintain its advantage over China in AI.

“We’re leading China on AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world and frankly I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins," Trump said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that House Democrats would make AI a priority when his caucus meets on Tuesday, September 15.

Jeffries said Democrats want action that could “slow down the pace of development” while ensuring AI progresses safely.

Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep Greg Casar have called for a ban on superintelligence and a pause in AI development until the government establishes a vetting process.