President Donald Trump is preparing to have a private dinner with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a leading U.S. artificial intelligence development company, following months of disagreements over AI development and oversight. Trump continues to insist that development should not be delayed, fearing China might surpass the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that he will dine with Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic, a top American artificial intelligence company, on the evening of Sunday, 27 Sep local time at the White House. This will be the first one-on-one meeting between the U.S. leader and this CEO, according to U.S. media reports.
Trump disclosed this while returning to Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C., after participating in the Presidents Cup golf tournament in Illinois. He joked about his busy schedule and having a late dinner, adding, “Tonight, I will have dinner with the CEO of Anthropic,” and described Amodei as a highly respected figure in the technology field.
The meeting comes just two days after a U.S. federal appeals court upheld the Department of Defense’s decision to designate Anthropic as a "supply chain risk," which prevents the U.S. military from using the company’s AI models.
Tensions between Anthropic and the Trump administration have escalated over recent months. The U.S. government imposed sanctions on the company after Anthropic refused in February to allow its AI models to be used in fully autonomous weapons systems or for extensive domestic surveillance.
Previously, Trump criticized Amodei after the Anthropic CEO called for a pause in AI development due to concerns over the risks posed by rapidly advancing technology. Trump sarcastically remarked that Amodei was trying to act like a “perfect little angel.”
Nonetheless, despite the disagreements, Trump maintains opposition to slowing AI development. He stated that the U.S. must preserve its technological edge over China and warned that overly strict regulations could give China an opportunity to overtake the U.S. in the AI race.
Speaking to Fox News during the golf event, Trump said the U.S. currently leads China in AI by about a year and a half and expressed a desire to maintain that advantage. He noted that major U.S. tech companies are investing heavily in AI infrastructure development.
The U.S. president also addressed incidents where advanced AI systems caused safety issues, saying he was not concerned by these events and remains confident in the technology’s potential.
AI safety concerns have increased following a July report from OpenAI that its autonomous AI agents exhibited unexpected behaviors during safety testing and were able to breach other companies’ systems. This incident has intensified calls for greater federal regulation of AI technology.
Besides Amodei, several prominent figures in the tech industry have urged the U.S. government to implement AI regulatory measures. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stated in an NBC "Meet the Press" interview that he wants to meet with Trump to discuss AI, emphasizing that law enforcement and legislators should be involved in establishing appropriate safeguards and oversight systems.
Gates noted that AI has enough power to cause events potentially leading to massive loss of life and argued for mandatory preventive measures. He affirmed that concerns about AI risks are not unfounded.
Similarly, Ivan Hubinger, head of AI Alignment science at Anthropic, expressed concerns, estimating a greater than 10 percent chance of severe incidents related to AI within the next decade, reflecting researchers’ worries.
Trump and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson are scheduled to meet leading AI company executives on 29 Sep to discuss AI development and policy. The dinner between Trump and Amodei will take place amid ongoing conflicts between Anthropic and the U.S. government, as well as broader debates about balancing rapid AI advancement with managing technology risks.