US President Donald Trump made an unusual comment about Google CEO Sundar Pichai during an interaction with reporters at the White House, describing him as a “monster” while praising him.
In a video of the exchange, Trump asked Pichai whether he wanted to say something. As Pichai began speaking, Trump interrupted and continued praising him, saying that Pichai was a “monster” and suggesting that many people did not know him.
Trump then emphasised Pichai’s first name, saying, “Sundarr! Sundar is his name.”
Pichai responded humorously, saying, “Hopefully a better tagline than I’m a monster,” prompting laughter from people nearby.
Meeting with technology executives
The exchange took place after a meeting between Trump and several technology executives concerning voluntary standards for artificial intelligence.
The meeting included Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
During the event, Trump described the voluntary AI agreement as being “almost like a constitution” and said that it represented a form of protection.
The agreement establishes voluntary principles and controls for companies developing advanced AI systems.
Comments from technology leaders
Pichai said the participating companies were committing to processes and controls similar to those used in other areas of business, including financial controls. He said the companies were applying established practices to the development of advanced AI systems.
Amodei acknowledged that AI technology carries significant risks and said discussions were continuing about how those risks should be addressed.
Zuckerberg said the agreement included principles and commitments concerning internal controls and systems for detecting potential problems with AI technology.
The White House meeting brought together government officials and leaders from several major technology companies to discuss AI safety, oversight and the development of voluntary industry standards.
