White House AI czar Jay Clayton: You have to develop technologies in a way that promotes safety

>> HI! >> WELCOME BACK. EXECUTIVES FROM ACROSS TECH ARE MEETING IN NAPA VALLEY WITH AI OBVIOUSLY ALL OVER THE AGENDA. DAVID FABER JOINS US NOW WITH PALO ALTO CEO NIKESH ARORA AND THE WHITE HOUSE AI CZAR JAY CLAYTON. DAVID, TAKE IT AWAY. >> THANK YOU SCOTT. YEAH. >> IT'S OUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY. >> TO SPEAK TO JAY. >> CLAYTON SINCE HE WAS APPOINTED THE LEADER OF THIS SO-CALLED SUPER INTELLIGENCE FORCE. GENTLEMEN, GOOD TO HAVE YOU BOTH. AND JAY, LET ME START WITH YOU, BECAUSE AS I SAID, YOU'RE LEADING THIS THIS SEA FORCE. YOU SAID IT'S INTENDED TO ENSURE THE US STAYS THE LEADER IN AI. YOU'VE ALSO SAID THAT THE INTEREST OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL ALSO BE PUT FIRST. AND I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU SEE BALANCING THOSE TWO GOALS, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE HAVE FRONTIER LABS WORRYING ABOUT SAFETY, TALKING ABOUT PACING THIS TECHNOLOGY. WHERE DOES THE BALANCE THEN IN THOSE GOALS, BOTH KEEPING US SAFE, SO TO SPEAK, OR AT LEAST PUTTING US FIRST, BUT ALSO BEING A LEADER? >> WELL. >> DAVID, THANKS. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. LOOK, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT BALANCE AND IT'S KIND OF LIKE, WELL, I HAVE TO INCREASE SLOWING IT DOWN OR SLOW IT DOWN IN ORDER TO HAVE SAFETY. IT'S ACTUALLY THE OTHER WAY AROUND. YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGIES IN A WAY THAT PROMOTES SAFETY. AND THAT'S WHAT CAN BE DONE HERE. I THINK I THINK THERE'S A REAL FALSE DICHOTOMY IN THAT THERE'S A A TRADE OFF OF SPEED AND SAFETY OR A TRADE OFF OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP AND SAFETY. LET ME TELL YOU, AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO SAFETY, AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THIS TECHNOLOGY HAVING THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. >> ALL RIGHT. WELL, I KNOW YOU'RE EARLY, OBVIOUSLY IN YOUR IN YOUR WORK HERE, YOU'VE GOT ABOUT 120 DAYS TO DO IT. BUT JAY, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR THAT GIVES YOU THAT BELIEF THAT YOU CAN DO BOTH AND DO BOTH SO THAT YOU'RE NOT SLOWING ANYTHING? >> WELL, WHAT I, WHAT I HAVE LOVED AND WHAT, WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP AND SPEAKER JOHNSON DID IN BRINGING TOGETHER THAT THAT HISTORIC WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT WAS DEVELOPED A CANDID DIALOGUE WITH THE LEADERS IN THIS INDUSTRY. AND THERE ARE OTHERS IN THIS INDUSTRY YOU HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IT'S NOT JUST 5 OR 6 COMPANIES. THIS IS 2025 U.S. COMPANIES. AND IN THAT DIALOGUE, IT IS CLEAR THAT THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THE SAFETY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THE COMFORT THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS GOING TO BE DEVELOPED WITH THEIR INTEREST, MUST NOT ONLY BE WHAT WE SAY, IT MUST BE DEMONSTRATED. AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE 120 DAYS TO GET THIS ON A PATH WHERE THAT IS DEMONSTRATED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, NOT JUST BY THE GOVERNMENT, BUT BY THE INDUSTRY. THAT'S THE GOAL. DAVID. >> YEAH. NISH, LET ME COME TO YOU BECAUSE I THINK SOON AFTER WE HEARD FROM DARIO MODI AT ANTHROPIC, SAM ALTMAN AS WELL, TALKING ABOUT PACING THE FRONTIER. YOU HAD A SOCIAL MEDIA POST IN WHICH YOU SAID YOU BELIEVE DEEP DOWN THAT THAT WAS A COMMERCIAL STRATEGY. YOU WENT ON TO WRITE A NINJA STRATEGY. THE LIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH A MODEL GONE ROGUE HAS THE POTENTIAL OF WIPING OUT THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OF ANY FRONTIER COMPANY. HOW DO YOU BEST SHOW THE DUTY OF CARE? YOU SHOW THAT YOU CARE. HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LOSE OUT TO YOUR COMPETITORS? YOU GET THEM TO DO THE SAME THING. THAT'S A QUOTE FROM YOU. IT'S KIND OF A CYNICAL VIEW. I MEAN, DO YOU NOT TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY WHEN MANY OF THESE SAFETY PEOPLE INSIDE THESE LABS SEEM TO BE VERY CONCERNED? >> WELL, LOOK, I'M GOING TO FIRST OF ALL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME, DAVID. I'VE GOT TO GO REINFORCE WHAT JAY JUST SAID. THE FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ON INCREASING THE PACE OF DEPLOYING THIS TECHNOLOGY SAFELY AND SECURELY. THE CHALLENGE IS NOT TO SLOW THE TECHNOLOGY DOWN. THE CHALLENGE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PUT THE RIGHT SAFETY AND SECURITY HARNESSES AROUND THIS TECHNOLOGY, AND I THINK THAT IS IMMENSELY DOABLE. IT'S AS MUCH OF AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM AS IT IS TO BUILD THESE AMAZING FRONTIER MODELS. I THINK WE'RE NOT GOING TO WIN THE SUPERINTELLIGENCE RACE IF WE DON'T FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THIS STUFF GETS DEPLOYED AT SPEED. BUT WITH THE RIGHT SAFETY AND SECURITY GUARDRAILS, WE CANNOT GIVE AI AGENCY WITHOUT HAVING A REASONABLE UNDERSTANDING. ACTUALLY, NOT MORE THAN REASONABLE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE DETERMINISTIC OUTCOMES ARE GOING TO BE CREATED BY THIS TECHNOLOGY. SO THE NOTION THAT YOU CAN HAVE THOUSANDS OF RESEARCHERS