In this episode of his show "Filtered," TJ Walker comments on a New York Times report that the Trump administration is reconsidering its hands‑off stance and is now weighing pre‑release government oversight of AI models. Walker frames the shift as a reaction to the rapid evolution of AI from a novelty to a technology capable of autonomously discovering and exploiting vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure such as financial systems, energy grids, and defense networks. He warns that an irresponsible release could enable low‑skill bad actors to launch large‑scale attacks, and that the stakes are far higher than mundane chatbot mishaps. Walker then critiques the prospect of regulation under Trump, arguing that the administration’s inconsistent, personally‑driven rule‑making could result in selective enforcement—potentially exempting the most powerful AI firms in exchange for political favors. He dramatizes worst‑case scenarios, including rogue states gaining control of nuclear arsenals via AI‑enabled hacks, and expresses a near‑zero confidence (about 1%) that the current administration will implement responsible AI policy. The monologue concludes with a self‑promotion of Walker’s "Ultimize" platform, offering free courses on communication and habit building, and a brief personal background highlighting his four‑decade career coaching executives, world leaders, and Nobel laureates.
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Ultimize. According to reporting from The New York Times, the Trump administration is now considering government oversight of AI models before they're released to the public. Now, this is a major reversal after previously taking a hands-off approach. One advisor described the dilemma perfectly, saying the technology is moving so fast that officials don't want to overregulate but also can't ignore the risks. Translation: The people who said don't worry about this are now really worried about this. A few years ago, artificial intelligence felt like a toy. Now even the people who were cheering it on are quietly saying maybe we should check this thing out before we release it. That tells you everything because this is not just about chatbots anymore. This is about systems that are becoming so powerful they can find weaknesses in other systems faster than any human could. Let me make this real for you. The danger isn't that AI writes your emails. The danger is that it becomes so good at identifying vulnerabilities that it can break into systems we once believed were untouchable— financial systems, energy grids, defense networks— at scale, all at once. Now take that one step further. Imagine a world where a bad actor doesn't need a team of elite hackers anymore. They just need access to the right AI, and that system helps them find ways into critical infrastructure. Or worse, you don't need a movie plot, you just need one breakthrough in capability and one irresponsible release. And once something like that is out in the world, you don't recall it like a defective product, you don't issue a refund, you live with the consequences. That's why, whether people like it or not, We need regulation, not because government's perfect, but because the alternative is let's build the most powerful tools in human history and hope nobody uses them badly. Well, that's not a strategy, that's wishful thinking. But here's where this gets dangerous, because needing regulation is one thing. Having the wrong people in charge of that regulation, that could be even worse than no regulation at all. If you look at the governing style of Donald Trump, there's a pattern. Rules aren't applied consistently. They are applied personally. And this is a huge problem. Imagine the government starts looking at the top 5 or 10 AI companies with the most sophisticated technologies. And here's what I would imagine Trump doing? Regulating 9 of the 10, but the most powerful, the richest one, the one that has AI that is so powerful it could do almost anything, that one's gonna get a pass because that company's gonna be smart, at least for them. And they'll say to Trump, hey, we're gonna give a billion dollars worth of stock to your teenage son, Barron. And we're going to make him vice chairman of the board. How about just leaving us off the regulation list? Is there anyone in the world at this point who doubts what Trump would do? He would do the absolute worst thing. And then you have a situation where, uh, maybe North Korea gets their hands because it's released to the whole world, this AI technology. And they can somehow take control over Russia's nuclear arsenal and have Russia's nuclear arsenal destroy Iran or Ukraine or, hey, maybe the United States. So that's the real risk here, and that's the risk, frankly, United States voters took when they elected someone as irresponsible as our current Dear leader, it's scary times. Yes, we do need regulation of AI. We need responsible regulation. At this point, I have— I won't say I have zero faith in this administration doing the right thing, but I'm putting it at about 1%. Here's something I've learned after years of doing this: the people who actually improve don't necessarily hear better advice. They just stay around it longer. They keep exposing themselves to the same useful ideas until it finally clicks. Most people don't do that. So if you want to be in the small group that actually follows through, go to ultimize.com, that's ultimize.com, and get the free course. There's one on communication, one on building better habits, nothing fancy, just something you can keep coming back to If you're already there, you're doing the hard part. Just go to ultimize.com and build on it. Hi and welcome back. I'm TJ Walker. This is Filtered. Thanks so much for joining me today. Slight technical blunder. I'll be right back with you. One more brief commercial where we typically only have 2 ads in the entire show. Going to make a slight deviation today. Back in a moment. Okay, so who am I? Who is this TJ character? Why are you listening to me or watching me? I spent 40 years coaching executives, people just like you, but also presidents of countries, prime ministers, Nobel Peace Prize winners on how to have better communication skills and personal development habits. And now you can get the same training. But here's the catch. There is no catch. You can get a free course today. All you have to do is go to ultimize.com. That's ultimize.com. M-i-z-e.com, and you can download your free online communication skills course or your free good habits building course. Go ahead and do that right now, or at least right after the show. Ultimize.
