The G20 Ministerial Meeting on Technology will bring together tech giants such as Musk, Huang, and Altman to advance the "Carolina Principles"—a light-touch AI governance framework. The framework advocates against establishing new regulatory bodies and promotes collaboration between governments and companies to test new technologies. If approved, it will be submitted as a joint statement to the G20 Summit in December. The United States is seeking to balance the encouragement of AI innovation with the mitigation of safety risks, while G20 members hold significant divergences in their regulatory approaches.Author and source: Bloomberg
Key figures from the U.S. tech industry will gather in North Carolina to push G20 members to reach a consensus on an AI governance framework centered on "light regulation."
On August 27, Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and David Sacks, former White House advisor on artificial intelligence, will attend the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Technology next week, sharing the stage with tech giants such as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The meeting is jointly organized by Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
A central agenda item of the meeting is to encourage G20 member countries to adopt the non-binding AI governance framework known as the Carolina Principles. The principles advocate for "light-touch regulation" of emerging technologies, avoid establishing new regulatory bodies, and encourage collaboration between governments and businesses on testing new technologies. White House officials are actively lobbying G20 members to build consensus before the conclusion of the ministerial meeting.
If approved, the framework will be submitted as a joint statement to the G20 Leaders' Summit this December, where Trump will host the summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida.
The lineup will be revealed over two days; according to reports citing sources familiar with the matter, Musk, Sacks, and Meta president Dina Powell McCormick will appear on the first day of the conference, local time September 1, all participating online. McCormick served as Deputy National Security Advisor during Trump’s first term.
Huang Renxun and Altman will attend the agenda led by the U.S. Department of Commerce the following day. Axios previously revealed the list of speakers for the second day, and OpenAI has confirmed that Altman will attend the meeting.
Other speakers on the first day included Bob Mumgaard, CEO of fusion startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University.
The "Carolina Principle" targets light regulation of AI, reportedly citing insiders, with its core proposals including: policymakers should avoid establishing new regulatory agencies; implement differentiated regulation based on industry characteristics; and promote collaboration between government and the private sector to test emerging technologies.
Musk, Sacks, and McCormick are expected to discuss at the conference how to shape the regulatory environment to maximize technological innovation while managing risk.
As the global AI race intensifies, divisions among nations over the extent to which governments should intervene in the AI industry are becoming increasingly pronounced. The U.S. government is currently attempting to balance the promotion of innovation with the mitigation of cybersecurity and national security risks—a tension that has sparked clear policy debates within the Trump administration.
This ministerial meeting on technology is also one of the preparatory events for the G20 Leaders' Summit in December. G20 members, including major economies such as China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, have significant differences in their approaches to AI regulation.
Notably, although Sacks left the White House earlier this year, insiders reveal that he continues to provide policy advice to Trump in his capacity as a venture capitalist.