On September 29, 2026, the White House convened leaders from several major tech companies for a roundtable discussion focused on regulation and control of artificial intelligence (or "Super Intelligence"). Seeking to promote domestic development, the administration has repeatedly rejected calls for sweeping federal legislation in favor of what President Trump referred to as "tremendous self-policing." However, the broader federal approach is more nuanced. In particular, FTC has recently launched an investigation into certain AI companies, and the White House's Super Intelligence Force is holding its first meeting this week to discuss how existing laws could be applied to AI technology.

White House Accord

The "White House Accord on Super Intelligence" (subtitled "Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities") was signed following the September 29 discussion. The signatory companies voluntarily agreed to meet regularly, establish safety standards, and implement four layers of internal controls and audits, which include the following:
1. Internal controls during training and deployment to track model alignment across cybersecurity, biosecurity, and chemical threats, ensuring models do not hack or access technical systems in unintended ways;
2. Internal teams to verify that monitoring and detection systems operate as intended and remediate identified issues;
3. Third-party auditors to independently assess whether internal controls and detection mechanisms function properly;
4. Independent committee of the board of directors to review internal and external audit reports and enforce remediation efforts.

In the absence of any formal enforcement mechanism, President Trump remarked that the self-regulatory pact is "morally binding," and in a press conference following the signing, industry leaders discussed an ongoing commitment to these standards. However, some commentors have questioned the stringency and clarity of the proposed controls, which do not appear to apply to the broader AI industry.

FTC Probe and Super Intelligence Force

In contrast to the administration's generally deregulatory approach, enforcement pressure from some federal agencies has intensified following a recent wave of autonomous cybersecurity breaches (most notably, the July "Hugging Face incident" raised significant concern when a large number of AI agents accessed the open-source platform without authorization).

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson opened an investigation into several leading AI companies to examine potentially unfair or deceptive practices and consumer risks. The investigation is expected to compel executive testimony and document production related to conduct surrounding these issues. While Ferguson has warned against letting corporations leverage safety concerns to lobby for new regulations that create an anti-competitive "moat", both he and President Trump have emphasized that existing laws will be strictly enforced against bad conduct.

Relatedly, the White House recently established a "Super Intelligence Task Force," on which Ferguson serves as a vice chair. The group is tasked with considering whether and how existing liability laws can be used to hold AI companies accountable for any wrongdoing. Following its initial meeting this week, the group is expected to publish an update on its goals and strategy in the coming days.

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