In Silicon Valley, Trump’s hands‑off AI approach wins cheers from founders

An Associated Press dispatch from San Francisco’s Tech Week paints a striking picture of how the U.S. administration’s AI stance is being received in Silicon Valley. President Trump has leaned into a strongly pro‑industry message, even rebranding “artificial intelligence” as “Super Intelligence” in his rhetoric and urging that the sector largely police itself on safety. Startup founders and venture capitalists interviewed at the event largely applauded this approach, seeing it as a green light to move faster on fundraising, product launches and ambitious research without the shadow of heavy‑handed federal rules. Critics, however, warn that leaving guardrails up to industry bodies could prove shortsighted, especially given AI’s role in elections, information manipulation and the reshaping of labor markets. The tension is particularly visible after recent security issues at Anthropic prompted the White House to consider mandatory incident reporting in some government contexts. For now, though, the prevailing mood in the Bay Area is relief: as long as Washington avoids sweeping regulations, many founders believe the next wave of AI innovation—and profits—will continue to be driven from Silicon Valley on its own terms.