US government tells AI companies to police themselves instead of waiting for regulation

The Trump administration has made its position on AI regulation about as clear as it can get: you’re on your own, tech companies. Vice President JD Vance used a series of public remarks in mid-September 2026 to tell AI developers that the White House expects them to manage their own safety risks rather than looking to Washington for guardrails. President Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed warnings about AI posing existential threats as a “hoax,” framing the technology instead as potentially the “greatest economic development engine in history.” The self-regulation playbook Vance’s remarks, delivered over several days from September 16 to 18, carried a colorful warning for AI developers. He urged companies to “stop building Frankenstein,” a phrase that neatly captures the administration’s view: if you’re creating something potentially dangerous, the responsibility to keep it in check falls squarely on your shoulders. The administration backed up the philosophy with a June 2, 2026 executive order that established a voluntary federal review framework for high-risk AI models. Developers can submit cutting-edge systems for government review, but the process was deliberately streamlined. Th...