Former President Barack Obama welcomed calls from leading artificial intelligence companies to slow frontier-model development on Monday, calling the emerging consensus "a good and necessary first step" while saying government and the public must help shape how the technology evolves.

Obama Backs Slower Frontier AI Development

"I was encouraged this week to see the leaders of the frontier labs agree on the need for them to slow down the pace of AI development," Obama wrote on X. "Given the stakes, it's a good and necessary first step."

The shift follows Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to pace capability gains. Over the weekend OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis backed stronger safety coordination. A July "Pacing the Frontier" statement signed by more than 1,300 frontier-AI employees asked Washington to support international tools for slowing automated AI development if needed.

Obama said voluntary industry action is insufficient. "The potential impact of this technology is not overhyped," he wrote, adding that AI is "moving at lightning speed – and even faster than those who are engineering it can keep up with."

He also highlighted Project Blueprint, an SV Angel effort led by former Obama press secretary Jay Carney, aimed at connecting technology companies and policymakers on AI standards and safety.

Congress Weighs Guardrails As Debate Widens

Congress is also moving. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Monday that lawmakers should use a "light touch" but could put "guardrails around those types of more consequential threats" without hurting America's ability to stay ahead in the AI race. Reuters said Thune, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are discussing legislation requiring frontier developers to demonstrate safeguards.

Obama had already urged Democrats to prioritize AI oversight, warning that the technology could become dangerous without a clear policy framework.

Trump Pushes Back On AI Regulation

President Donald Trump has pushed back. Reuters reported Monday that Trump dismissed AI-safety warnings as a "hoax," saying existing government powers are sufficient and warning that tighter rules could weaken the U.S. against China. Trump also told Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang that fears of robots taking over were "all a hoax".

Obama said he is neither an "AI accelerationist" expecting a "techno-utopia" nor a "doomer" convinced AI will destroy humanity.

Whether AI delivers breakthroughs in medicine, energy and education or "huge economic disruptions, greater inequality, and potential catastrophe," Obama said, depends on choices made now, "not just by the companies involved, but by all of us."