‘This guy is a monster’: Trump’s hilarious praise for Sundar Pichai, Google CEO’s witty reply

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Trump praised Pichai and said, "This guy is a monster, and nobody knows him. What a great life."

Pichai responded with a joke of his own, saying, "Hopefully a better tagline than I'm a monster," drawing laughter from those around him.

The exchange came after a White House luncheon attended by several of the world's leading technology and AI executives.

Trump hosts AI and tech leaders

Trump hosted a group of prominent technology executives, including Google's Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, among others.

The meeting focused on AI safety, industry self-regulation, the expansion of data centres and the broader development of advanced AI systems.

AI companies agree to voluntary safety accord

Following the meeting, Trump and the technology leaders announced a voluntary agreement aimed at establishing safety controls for advanced AI systems.

The agreement calls for companies to maintain robust internal controls, subject those controls to independent external audits or evaluations and establish internal board committees to review the findings.

Trump described the commitment as "morally binding", but it is not legally enforceable. The framework could potentially be incorporated into future laws or regulations.

Trump said he favoured "tremendous self-regulation" of the AI industry, while pointing to existing government agencies such as the Justice Department and FBI as part of the broader regulatory framework.

Data centres discussed

The meeting also addressed the rapid expansion of data centres needed to power AI systems.

Trump said AI companies would work with local communities hosting data centres and provide economic and other benefits, including support for areas dealing with infrastructure and community needs.

Amodei flags AI risks

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has previously raised concerns about the risks associated with advanced AI, said after the meeting that the technology has "very real risks" and that the mechanism for addressing those risks remains under discussion.

Pichai said the companies were signing up to processes and controls similar to those used in other areas of corporate governance and applying established practices to the development of what Trump calls "superintelligence."

Trump unveils America.gov AI platform

The Trump administration also unveiled America.gov, an AI-powered government platform designed to help people find and navigate federal information and services.

The platform uses an AI chatbot-style interface to provide information from federal government sources, with plans for expanded functions including assistance with government forms and applications.

Trump also announced that his administration would use the term "superintelligence" in place of "artificial intelligence" in its official communications.