The Vergecast · Friday, October 2, 2026
Tech leaders met with Donald Trump to sign a non-binding 'moral compact' on AI safety. The compact outlines four principles, including robust internal controls and external auditing, which critics argue are already standard practices for these companies. The agreement is seen by some as performative, lacking concrete enforcement mechanisms, and failing to address immediate concerns like the real-world implications of AI agents, contrasting with more pressing issues like AI's impact on jobs and misinformation.
“But yeah, he gathered... All the big tech leaders, they had a great dinner together, they schmoozed, they posed for photos, and then a smaller group of them. went on and they signed this, I believe they called it a moral compact, which is to say it is non-binding where the major AI companies all agreed to you know, have some safety protocols.”
“And I'm just going to guarantee you that is how all of these companies are already working. Except for maybe SpaceX AI, which is fine. But like, is he going to do it? Like, I don't know. This is nothing, right? They all already have safety teams.”
“The idea that the agents will go rogue and people will grant them security permissions that reveal their address to Facebook marketplace buyers is like happening today.”