White House’s Kevin Hassett says private sector is key to solving AI threats

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said in interviews between September 13 and 15 that the private sector, not a new federal bureaucracy, is best positioned to solve AI safety threats, endorsing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal for independent oversight structures embedded within AI companies. Hassett said he does "not expect" heightened AI safety warnings to cause market turmoil, and senior officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are reportedly coordinating efforts to test Anthropic's Mythos model. Hassett had floated a potential executive order establishing a safety-testing roadmap for AI models in May.

White House’s Kevin Hassett says private sector is key to solving AI threats The administration's top economic adviser endorsed Anthropic's self-governance proposal while downplaying concerns that AI safety warnings could rattle markets Kevin Hassett, head of the White House National Economic Council, made the case this week that AI safety is a problem best solved by the companies building the technology, not by a new layer of federal bureaucracy. In interviews conducted between September 13 and 15, Hassett pointed to a proposal from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as a model worth watching. Amodei has been pushing for independent oversight structures embedded within AI companies themselves. Hassett described the concept as crucial for coordinating safety efforts between government and industry before advanced AI models get released into the wild. The private sector as safety inspector Hassett’s core argument is straightforward: the private sector has been making meaningful progress on AI safety, and that progress qualifies as “a good step forward.” Back in May, Hassett floated the idea of a potential executive order that would establish a safety-testing roadmap for AI models. Senior officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are reportedly coordinating efforts to test Anthropic’s Mythos model. AI, tech, and the markets they move—in one daily briefing. Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy. President Trump has consistently downplayed AI risks while simultaneously framing AI dominance as a geopolitical imperative, condensing the stakes into the phrase “whoever wins AI wins.” Markets shrug at safety concerns One of the more notable elements of Hassett’s comments was his assessment of how markets would react to heightened AI safety warnings. He said he does “not expect” those warnings to result in market turmoil. The geopolitical backdrop Hassett’s comments didn’t happen in a vacuum. The administration has consistently framed AI development through a national security lens, positioning the US in a technology race against China. The Amodei proposal offers a convenient middle path. By endorsing company-level oversight rather than government-level oversight, the administration can claim it takes safety seriously without slowing down the broader competitive effort. Independent review boards inside companies like Anthropic can flag risks and recommend safeguards, but they lack the enforcement power of a federal regulator. The involvement of Treasury Secretary Bessent in testing Anthropic’s Mythos model suggests the administration is at least willing to invest senior-level attention in the safety question. Cabinet officials reviewing AI models is a policy signal, but it’s not the same as a standing regulatory body with rulemaking authority and enforcement mechanisms. Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/ .