Silicon Valley AI bosses cheer Trump's self-policing push even as firms quietly plan for catastrophic AI revolt

From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026.

Top AI executives are welcoming President Trump's call for the tech industry to regulate its own safety standards, with Silicon Valley founders rallying behind the hands-off approach at a major industry gathering this week. Behind closed doors, however, firms including OpenAI and Anthropic are running contingency drills for the scenario where an AI model causes catastrophic public harm — such as attacks on power grids, water supplies or banking systems — and triggers a mass political backlash. The two postures sit in open tension: publicly celebrating deregulation while privately war-gaming disaster.

OpenAI confirmed it runs 'preparedness exercises' covering a range of potential catastrophe scenarios, stressing they are not treated as inevitable.