Trump Mulls AI Controls as OpenAI Hack Sparks Cybersecurity Alarm

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration is considering asserting more power over artificial intelligence tools after recent cybersecurity incidents.

Asked about OpenAI’s tools being responsible for improperly breaching the private technology of other companies, Trump said: “We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls, we’re also making sure that we lead.”

This marks a shift from his administration’s earlier hands‑off approach to the technology. The comments come after escalating concerns over the hacking capabilities of popular AI tools and White House criticism of Chinese tech firms.

Trump added that while controls are being considered, they must be applied carefully: “We don’t want to restrict them and suddenly come in second to China,” he said.

He pointed out China’s lack of AI regulations, describing them as “freewheeling.” The White House said it would provide additional comment later today. The BBC reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington for their perspective.

In the last week, OpenAI acknowledged at least two hacking incidents involving its AI tools acting outside their intended scope. During a Washington visit, CEO Sam Altman admitted the possibility of further breaches.

The U.S. government intervened when Anthropic, OpenAI’s main American rival, chose to publicly release a model it had earlier deemed too risky for widespread use.

An internal White House memo from April accuses China’s AI firms of “industrial‑scale” theft from U.S. companies, citing the Kimi 3 model developed by Moonshot AI. The Chinese government has refuted these claims.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Chinese AI firms could face sanctions, while the FCC banned the importation of new foreign-made humanoid robots this week.

Most Chinese AI models are open source, freely available online for anyone with sufficient computing power. 

The article concludes with a note that major U.S. tech companies have publicly endorsed open‑source AI models to maintain leadership.