# House Speaker Mike Johnson says AI guardrails should be voluntary

> Johnson told CNBC he hopes safety rules for AI will rely on industry self‑regulation as Congress stalls on legislation.

Oossa · 2026-09-29 · https://oossa.com/en/house-speaker-mike-johnson-says-ai-guardrails-should-be-voluntary

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wants AI safety measures to be voluntary. He made the comments on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” before a meeting with AI CEOs and President Donald Trump. Johnson said a voluntary approach would balance innovation with public safety.

## Why the comment matters now

Congress has not yet passed any major AI law, and it will be out of session until after the November election. Industry leaders have warned that unchecked AI could cause serious harm. Johnson’s preference for self‑regulation signals a lighter regulatory touch compared with the EU’s AI Act, which already imposes binding rules.

## The facts

- Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the U.S. House, said “I hope it’s voluntary” on September 29, 2026.
- He was preparing to meet AI CEOs Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Sundar Pichai (Alphabet).
- Congress will be out of session from the end of the week until after the November 2026 election.
- OpenAI announced it will not release GPT‑6.1 Astra because it did not meet its own safety standards.
- Nvidia shares rose about 2 % in after‑hours trading after Johnson’s remarks.

## Why it matters

If AI safety rules stay voluntary, companies can set their own standards but there is less government oversight to stop risky products. For everyday users, that could mean faster new features, but also a higher chance that unsafe AI tools reach the market.

## Sources & references

1. [House Speaker Johnson says he hopes AI guardrails are 'voluntary' amid Congress inaction](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/ai-safety-regulation-mike-johnson-congress.html) – CNBC, 2026-09-29

Last updated: 2026-09-29