Exclusive-JPMorgan CEO Dimon leads new cross-industry effort to tackle AI risks

By Nupur Anand

NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is urging corporate leaders to join a U.S.-focused industry group to address risks posed by AI, as corporate America rapidly adopts the developing technology, two sources familiar with the matter said. 

Dimon has personally reached out to CEOs of other large and major regional banks and IT companies to enlist them in the initiative, which he is expanding from a group that JPMorgan helped found called the Alliance for Critical Infrastructure, the sources said. 

The ACI and Dimon have also communicated with other prospective members in an effort to schedule calls in August to discuss collaboration, the sources said.

The outreach, which started in July, includes more than 40 companies spanning financial services, energy, water, utilities, telecommunications, airlines, railroads and other critical infrastructure industries that rely heavily on technology, the sources said. The ACI has not disclosed results of the effort so far.

Dimon’s views on the economy, regulation and technology are closely followed. As head of the largest U.S. bank, he has been among a small group of CEOs publicly warning about the risks posed by advanced AI systems. 

AI RISKS AND SAFEGUARDS

The initiative aims to develop a shared understanding of how AI is being used, the risks it poses and the safeguards needed, and to work with the Trump administration on those issues, the sources said. Recent cyberattacks on water systems in Minnesota and other states have increased the need for more information sharing across industries, the sources said.

JPMorgan was a founding member of the ACI alongside Mastercard, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and others. The organization was created to coordinate cross-sector resilience planning, share information, and respond to critical infrastructure threats, including cyber, physical and geopolitical risk. The group has a team that is also involved in refocusing the ACI and building up the AI effort.

Dimon said in a statement that the ACI leadership had seen the need to prioritize AI “years ago and got critical infrastructure companies working together.”

“We are proud to support this important work,” Dimon said.

When asked about the initiative during a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Dimon said ACI’s executive chairman Tom Fanning had set up the group a long time ago.

“I am like a support cast member,” Dimon said. “This group will help interface with that (the government) and both give advice and take advice from the government.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dimon’s remarks. 

The ACI said in a statement that “at a time of growing cyber threats, protecting the systems Americans rely on every day requires strong collaboration between government and critical infrastructure companies.” 

Mastercard and Berkshire did not respond to requests for comment. 

The ACI would serve as an industry response and information-sharing forum, with an intent to work with government officials to identify core AI and technology risks, share information and help solve problems as they emerge, the sources said. 

The group aims to have the revamped ACI fully functional by year-end, one of the sources said.

INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT EFFORTS

AI concerns have grown rapidly as businesses race to deploy the technology, with regulators and industry leaders warning that AI could also increase cyberattacks and create new vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure and financial systems. 

Dimon has warned about the risks posed by Anthropic’s Mythos AI model, underscoring that access to advanced ​AI capabilities must be controlled. He said in July that “you’re giving ballistic missiles to individuals with Mythos.” The ACI effort is separate from an industry effort by banks to test Mythos.

The U.S. government has stepped up coordination with industry to manage risks from increasingly powerful AI systems. In July, it launched the Gold Eagle initiative, bringing together AI developers, critical infrastructure operators and federal agencies to share information on vulnerabilities discovered by advanced AI models and coordinate fixes.

(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Megan Davies and Rod Nickel)