House Speaker Johnson says he hopes AI guardrails are 'voluntary' amid Congress inaction

# House Speaker Johnson says he hopes AI guardrails are 'voluntary' amid Congress inaction Source: [https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/09/29/ai-safety-regulation-mike-johnson-congress.html](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/09/29/ai-safety-regulation-mike-johnson-congress.html) Published Tue, Sep 29 2026 8:49 AM EDTUpdated Tue, Sep 29 2026 9:37 AM EDT - Congress is in the early stages of regulating artificial intelligence even as industry leaders and some lawmakers urgently call for action to thwart safety threats\. - AI executives have recently warned that the technology they have built poses catastrophic risks if it goes wrong\. But AI is also undergirding the economy, driving market gains amid other headwinds\. - Lawmakers appearing on CNBC's "Squawk Box," including House Speaker Mike Johnson, described the difficulty of the needle they are trying to thread\. House Speaker[Mike Johnson](https://www.cnbc.com/mike-johnson/), R\-La\., who is joining a[meeting of artificial intelligence officials](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/28/trump-ai-tech-lunch.html)in Washington later Tuesday, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he favors "striking the right balance" with the technology and hopes guardrails will be "voluntary\." "I hope it's voluntary," Johnson told CNBC Tuesday before meeting with the executives and President[Donald Trump](https://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/)\. "We'll find out what comes out of the meeting today\. I think that that's where they're headed\. I think they see the handwriting on the wall, and I think they want to ensure investors, you know, consumers, the American public, that they're going to do this in a very safe way, and and that will, I think, put us in the right place\." - 1 [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-ai-super-intelligence.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-ai-super-intelligence.html)[Trump tries to rename AI 'super intelligence' as polls show him sinking on key issue](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-ai-super-intelligence.html) - 2 [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-accounts-auto-enroll.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-accounts-auto-enroll.html)[Trump Accounts will auto\-enroll children, potentially adding 60 million accounts: Treasury](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-accounts-auto-enroll.html) - 3 [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/tech-white-house-ai-lunch-trump.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/tech-white-house-ai-lunch-trump.html)[Trump says he and tech leaders signed AI agreement that is 'morally binding'](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/tech-white-house-ai-lunch-trump.html) - 4 [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-officials-extend-student-loan-interest-rate-discount-deadline.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-officials-extend-student-loan-interest-rate-discount-deadline.html)[Education Department extends deadline for student loan interest rate discount](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-officials-extend-student-loan-interest-rate-discount-deadline.html) - 5 [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/the-feds-main-inflation-measure-will-be-released-wednesday-heres-what-to-expect.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/the-feds-main-inflation-measure-will-be-released-wednesday-heres-what-to-expect.html)[The Fed's main inflation measure will be released Wednesday\. Here's what to expect](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/the-feds-main-inflation-measure-will-be-released-wednesday-heres-what-to-expect.html) [View the full site](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/ai-safety-regulation-mike-johnson-congress.html)