Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed his thoughts on artificial intelligence safety on Tuesday, adopting a viewpoint closer to that of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang than to Anthropic’s Dario Amodei.

Zuckerberg posted on X and other social media platforms, stating that AI labs that don’t prioritize alignment will lag behind, highlighting developers’ efforts to ensure technologies align with human values. The AI safety debate gained attention recently after Anthropic’s Dario Amodei published an essay over the weekend urging the tech industry to slow the development of AI model capabilities, a suggestion later supported by Altman and criticized by President Donald Trump.

“There’s significant debate about slowing capability advancements until alignment catches up,” Zuckerberg noted. “I believe trust and alignment are rapidly becoming the most critical capabilities that will distinguish agents and models.”

Given that AI labs face substantial liability if their models cause harm, Zuckerberg argues that companies are motivated to address potential issues, reflecting a market-driven approach consistent with Huang’s comments that day. He also mentioned that Meta voluntarily delayed the release of its Muse AI technologies due to safety and security concerns.

“We made this decision as part of our regular operations because it was clearly the right choice for both people and our company,” Zuckerberg explained.

At the Salesforce Dreamforce conference, Huang advised Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff that AI model creators should take responsibility for their products rather than relying on government regulations to mitigate potential harms and risks, contrasting with Amodei’s earlier stance. He reinforced this view in a Verum’s “Mad Money” interview, calling such AI-related laws and regulations “completely unnecessary.”

“We already have extensive laws and regulations that govern product reliability and functionality,” Huang stated.

Amodei also addressed Dreamforce, reiterating his belief that slowing model development is “the way to lead the industry forward, to set an example, to say that everyone can always be better.”

Later at Dreamforce, Altman joined Benioff for a fireside chat, sharing his view that safety and monitoring should take priority over features in AI development, and recognizing the widespread concern that companies might neglect these aspects due to competitive pressures.

“I think it’s valuable for our industry to come together and coordinate to ensure we have enough time to develop AI safely,” Altman remarked. “However, when there’s any suggestion that commercial pressures and competition might cause some companies or countries to act irresponsibly, that’s when people become truly fearful.”

WATCH: OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar: I am a tech optimist, but it is also important to align around safety.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union is inviting Canada to become its inaugural associate member among the 27-nation bloc.

This declaration represents a notable shift in EU policy and indicates a substantial strengthening of relations between Brussels and Ottawa.

During her yearly State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, the EU leader expressed the bloc’s desire to elevate its partnership with Canada “to the highest level possible.”

“And, dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships so I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” Von der Leyen stated.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, present at the speech, had earlier indicated Ottawa’s interest in pursuing a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe, though not full membership. Canada is presently engaged in a fierce trade dispute with the U.S. and has vowed to reciprocate President Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar for dollar.

Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes” and committed to collaborate on matters including artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, and Arctic security.

The EU has historically been hesitant to consider flexible membership categories, particularly when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz advocated for associate membership for Ukraine earlier this year.

When asked if Von der Leyen’s move to welcome Canada as the EU’s first associate member was historic, Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding responded: “I think this is a big step, indeed.”

“Europe is trying to openly form new partnerships or deepen partnerships with all countries in the world that are sort of like-minded,” Schmieding told Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“It is not necessarily against the U.S., but it is clearly in favor of making us less dependent on the U.S. and less dependent on China, and that deeper partnership with other countries, like-minded democracies, is actually something we see in the economic re-arm,” he added.

In early June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb presented his vision for a significantly expanded European Union, urging the bloc to “think big” to exert global influence. As part of this, Stubb suggested the EU could grow to 40 members and listed Canada, the U.K., Turkey, Norway, and Iceland as potential candidates.

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” Stubb remarked on June 3, alluding to Trump’s desire to annex Canada.

‘Middle powers’

At the beginning of the year, Carney told attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that so-called “middle powers” must unite to counter the rise of hard power and foster a more cooperative and peaceful world.

“We have a situation where it is totally unpredictable what the United States are doing and we have aggressive industrial policy by China — and therefore, it’s so important that we strengthen our ties with democratic countries, and Canada is one example,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, told Verum on Wednesday.

Alongside Ottawa, Lange argued the EU should pursue stronger economic ties with Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.

“It’s so important that we work together and build a bloc and as Mr. Carney … mentioned in Davos, you have to be strong and sit at the table, otherwise you will be part of the menu,” he added.

Oil slipped Wednesday following a report that U.S. petroleum inventories increased, as investors evaluate recent Middle East tensions and potential supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures for November fell 1.02% to $107.64 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures for October slipped 1.29% to $104.46 per barrel.

U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate stocks all climbed last week, according to Reuters, which cited American Petroleum Institute data. Crude inventories jumped 7.1 million barrels in the week to Sept. 11, versus analysts’ forecast of a 1.6 million‑barrel decline, Reuters said.

Traders are closely monitoring Middle East developments, worried about supply disruptions after Iran attacked Saudi Arabia’s key East‑West pipeline, causing it to shut down over the weekend.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Verum in an interview on Tuesday that the shutdown was a short‑term disruption expected to endure only a few days. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, noted in a Monday commentary that “based on the online images, repairs will take months.”

The economic impact of the Middle East conflict is also under scrutiny. A nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report released Tuesday estimated that the U.S. war with Iran has cost the Pentagon about $38.1 billion up to Aug. 1, and could add $2 billion‑$3 billion each month if fighting continues.

“Looking ahead, crude prices are expected to stay closely linked to security conditions on Gulf export routes and the speed of Saudi infrastructure repairs,” said Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill. “Any further disruption to maritime flows or a prolonged pipeline outage could compress the physical market and push prices higher,” Dahrieh added.