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NVIDIA Launches New Tool to Keep A.I. Agents From Going Rogue; Livestock Industry Groups Say Disruptions Brought by Recent ICE Operations Will Lead to Higher Beef Prices; Nepal Reports 14 Deaths After Heavy Rain, Storms Trigger Floods; 12 Teens Shot During Party at Georgia Skate Park; SpaceX Launches Most Powerful Rocket Ever Built Into Orbit. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 28, 2026 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[13:31:32]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Today, chipmaker NVIDIA says it's launched a new software platform designed to prevent A.I. agents from going rogue. This follows a series of troubling incidents this year where tech giants like Anthropic, Meta, Google, and OpenAI all disclosed breach attempts by their A.I. models. Now, some of the industry's top leaders are urging a slowdown and calling for federal regulation.

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Microsoft Co-Founder, Bill Gates argued that self-regulation is not enough, adding that if A.I. gets in the wrong hands, it could have devastating effects, including the possibility of biological attacks. Here's more.

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BILL GATES, CO-FOUNDER, MICROSOFT: A.I. is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths. There's never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest A.I. tools.

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SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with Andrew Yoon. He's the Head of Research at CivIA, a non-profit that examines A.I. capabilities and danger. Andrew, thanks so much for being with us.

So, NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, has spent the last few weeks suggesting that A.I. leaders have ulterior motives in calling for a slowdown. And then today, NVIDIA launches this open agent safety platform trying to rein in rogue agents. What do you make of Huang's approach?

ANDREW YOON, A.I. RESEARCHER, HEAD OF RESEARCH, CIVIA: I think this platform that NVIDIA is talking about is a great way to help add additional controls onto the behavior of A.I. models. It's not a silver bullet. And so they're kind of positioning this as if it's going to magically solve all of the problems that we've been seeing with A.I. misbehavior.

But at the end of the day, I don't think that it's a good solution for everything that we're seeing.

SANCHEZ: Why is that? Help us understand.

YOON: I would say that this control system that they've set up is called OpenShell. And it's really, what it does is it watches and controls what AIs are allowed to do. But what it really is doing is it's saying like, what can you do and what can't you do, but not why can't you do something or why can you do something.

And this distinction is really important because if we're saying there's a lot of simple cases like, OK, you're an A.I. agent, you're in testing, you should not be able to access the internet and therefore we will prevent you from accessing the internet.

That's all fine and good. And we do want to have these kind of controls. But eventually when AIs are starting to be used in the wild, in consumer products, in businesses around the country, these AIs will have internet connections and they will have a broad set of controls and abilities so that they can go and do economically valuable work.

And at that point, we can't do anything about the fact that the AIs are going to be misbehaving. So really what we need to do here is find a way to control AIs and prevent them from misbehaving in the first place rather than playing whack-a-mole and trying to stop them as they attempt to do bad things.

SANCHEZ: Do you think anyone across the A.I. industry has pitched or come out with a way to explain that why to these systems?

YOON: We know some things about the why, but we don't know everything. So one thing that we've started to see is in the last year or so, AIs have been developing this sort of win-at-all-costs mentality where we're training them in the labs in order to be able to do really, really hard tasks.

[13:35:00]

And part of that is just being really persistent so that if you run into a roadblock, you just keep on trying and get really, really creative with how you go and solve that problem. And this results in a variety of cheating behaviors, where an A.I. finds that its task is impossible.

And so what happens when you have an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, the unstoppable force might try to find a way around that barrier. And sometimes that involves going and hacking into systems in the real world.

SANCHEZ: It's a fascinating, almost philosophical discussion, especially when you hear someone like Bill Gates say that A.I. -- unfettered access to A.I. can lead to a billion deaths, potentially. He also argued that the idea of a kill switch, I'm sure you're familiar, it's been floated by lawmakers, that essentially, if there are indications that there is a problem with an agent or set of agents, you just hit a button and it shuts them all off. He says that that debate shows how non-technical various people are. He doesn't support it.

Do you support the idea of a kill switch?

YOON: I think a kill switch is a great idea. It helps add a backstop for some kind of short-term problems we might be seeing in the next couple of years. But it doesn't scale to a world where AIs are just wildly smarter than people are at everything.

And so if we believe that AIs are going to continue to get better at hacking, they're going to get better at hiding things from us, then we don't expect that a kill switch is going to be very effective.

SANCHEZ: So President Trump is getting set to meet with some A.I. leaders tomorrow. You previously pointed out that open models are exempt from his administration's review framework. How significant is that? And what would you say to the White House as to why they should perhaps rethink that approach?

YOON: The fundamental problem with open-weight models is that they can be run without any guardrails or any monitoring whatsoever. And so if we have a situation where open models are at the level of capabilities as like Claude Mythos or GPT Astra, these models that are very, very capable at hacking, that are capable of hacking into $13 billion companies and the U.S. government and all of these other kind of entities, if we have these models that are generally available without any kind of oversight, it's going to be a bad time.

And so we need to start thinking about what are some kind of targeted solutions that we can have to make sure that we can still reap the benefits of having a robust open-weight model ecosystem without having all the downsides.

SANCHEZ: Andrew Yoon, appreciate the expertise. Thanks for joining us.

YOON: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Up next, why livestock groups say recent ICE operations across several states could drive beef prices even higher. Stay with us.

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[13:42:18]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Cattle industry groups in states like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are sounding the alarm over recent immigration enforcement actions that they say are causing disruptions to their businesses. The associations wrote in a statement, these ICE operations are having a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the cattle supply chain moving. They go on to say that these types of disruptions will lead to higher beef prices for consumers. One of the areas that reportedly saw an increased ICE presence was southwest Kansas. CNN affiliate, KWCH highlighted a number of operations there over the past week. Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin spoke out about those operations, posting on X, quote, "ICE is not conducting worksite operations in Kansas. ICE law enforcement has conducted operations targeting heinous criminals, including murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers, and illegal aliens with final orders of removal."

Mullin then posted pictures of several people picked up during the department's operations. We're joined now by Nick Levendosofsky. He is Executive Director of Kansas Farmers Union. Nick, thanks for being with us.

We first learned more about these operations last week. What has this meant for the cattle industry in your state?

NICK LEVENDOSOFSKY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KANSAS FARMERS UNION: Well, thank you, Brianna. What it means for the cattle industry is that it creates chokeholds on the supply chain. And when you don't have workers on those plant lines that can do the processing, that slows things down.

And I've heard that they had to, you know, shut down shifts. There were times when they had to shut down the plants. But it also affects the dairies that are in southwest Kansas. We're seeing a growing dairy industry down there. And you know, a lot of the workers there are having to, you know, they're working, you know, 24/7/365. Those cows have to be milked every day, twice, if not three times a day.

So it's affecting so many of these areas in agriculture. It's affecting feed distribution centers, all sorts of things. Truckers moving cattle in and out and of course, the farmers and ranchers that are affected by this because it causes them to lose money if they don't get those cows processed in a timely fashion.

KEILAR: Yeah, there's a lot on the line. So help us, Nick, understand some of the dynamics at play here because Kansas Senator, Jerry Moran has said that Secretary Mullin assured him the warrants are only for arresting individuals who have been charged with criminal activities. He's saying these are not worksite raids.

But the association said in their statement that the operations are having this chilling effect on legal, documented skilled workers.

[13:45:00]

So it seems that those are folks who are staying home. What are you understanding that their concerns are?

LEVENDOSOFSKY: It's my understanding that that's exactly the case, that, you know, they've told us all along that they're operating off of a list of individuals that they're looking for, but they're not. Their actions don't prove that. They are pulling people over at random -- on highways, very dangerous highways, frankly. They are pulling kids over at high schools in the area. You know, there's profiling that's happening, and it's wrong, and it shouldn't be happening.

If they have a list, then stick to the list. Go about that in a way that is not disruptive, that does not cause chaos, so that people can continue to live their lives. But unfortunately, it has put more fear and chaos into the system where people aren't going to work.

That's why they've had to, you know, delay shifts, close factories, those kinds of things. And kids aren't going to school because they're worried that they're going to come home and mom and dad aren't going to be there, or a guardian of some kind isn't going to be there.

KEILAR: And Nick, you really put it into perspective when you're talking about the milking of the cows, the truck drivers, the factories. I mean, this is just so widespread, the effect that we're seeing. What does this mean for Americans who buy that beef, who buy other products that you're talking about here?

LEVENDOSOFSKY: Well, if this is going to be the route that this administration goes down, then consumers can go ahead and expect for beef prices to come further up. And I don't think that's what anybody wants. We don't want to see that. We want beef to be affordable. We want people to have access to it.

And that's what is so puzzling about this whole situation to begin with, is this is going to do more damage to communities, to people, to the agriculture industry, to consumers' pocketbooks if they continue to go down this route. It makes absolutely no sense.

KEILAR: The president has been sensitive to the cost of beef. I mean, this is something, right, that we can't escape as we go grocery shopping. You see that increase. You feel that increase. He announced last month that the U.S. would allow 300,000 pounds of tariff-free beef to be imported from foreign countries to be sold at a 25 percent below market price value.

A lot of domestic producers, of course, very opposed to that. What would your message be to him about the best way to tackle this issue of rising beef prices insofar as what he can and cannot control?

LEVENDOSOFSKY: Well, you can count me as one of those domestic producers that's against it. We've raised cattle here in Kansas for many, many years. And I wish that this administration would listen to us. I wish that they would figure out ways that they could connect with, you know, producer groups and figure out ways that make more sense than bringing in mystery meat from Argentina or wherever it may be, because that's not the answer.

That isn't the answer at all. We need to build our herds back up here in the U.S. Drought has caused a lot of that problem. You know, we've seen a lot of our herds culled because of that. We're at an all-time low as far as herd population, the lowest it's been in probably 75 years. So if we can focus on ways that are productive, that really pay close attention to what we can be doing right here in the U.S., if we could bring back country of origin labeling so that consumers know where their beef is coming from. I don't want to eat mystery beef, and I'll bet you don't either. So I want to know where it's coming from. And I know where my beef comes from. It comes from our farm.

So why don't we put a label on it that says it was born, raised and processed right here in the U.S.? And that'll bring consumer confidence back, and that'll bring markets back, and that'll do good for everybody in the long run.

KEILAR: Nick Levendosofsky, really appreciate you walking us through what you're facing there. Thanks for being with us.

LEVENDOSOFSKY: Thank you.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Search and rescue operations are underway in Nepal after an avalanche hit a base camp in a remote part of that country. At least four people are dead. More remain missing. Yesterday's avalanche comes as more severe weather batters Nepal.

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SANCHEZ: That was an office building tumbling into a river. At least 14 people in Nepal have died in the latest round of flooding. Military forces there are working to rescue people now trapped by high waters.

[13:50:00]

Plus, 12 teens were wounded this weekend in Macon, Georgia, when gunfire erupted at a skate park. The moment that shots rang out was caught on surveillance video.

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SANCHEZ: The sheriff's office says two groups of people exchanged words and brandished firearms before they began shooting at each other. Two of the injured teens are in critical condition. And investigators say they have interviewed at least 10 witnesses and taken seven vehicles to their crime lab. So far, though, no arrests have been made.

And the FAA is investigating a new potential safety issue involving the Boeing 737 Max. According to the Wall Street Journal, Boeing has identified a software glitch that could cause an automated navigation feature to fail in some situations as the planes are landing.

Boeing reportedly says the glitch, which it did not disclose publicly, does not pose a safety risk. The company also says it's developing a software fix. Now, United and Southwest Airlines have reportedly told Boeing they do not want any new 737 Max jets that include that flawed software.

Still to come this afternoon, mission success. SpaceX's Starship Mega Rocket just splashed down after orbiting Earth for the first time.

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[13:56:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one.

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KEILAR: Just awe-inspiring there. This morning, SpaceX blasting off the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. In a major moment for Elon Musk's company, its showpiece, Starship rocket reaching new heights, achieving orbit for the very first time, then triumphantly making its return to Earth a short time ago with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SANCHEZ: This test is an important milestone for SpaceX as they prepare for a NASA test flight next year. The goal of course is eventually carrying astronauts to the moon's surface and further down the road, maybe even to Mars.

Joining us now, former NASA Astronaut, Garrett Reisman. He's now an Aeronautical Engineering Professor at the University of Southern California.

Garrett, thanks so much for being with us. So how big a day is this for SpaceX, and why is orbit for this huge rocket such a milestone?

GARRETT REISMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Hi Boris, hi Brianna. Yes, it was a good day. It was a success in the sense that they accomplished their primary mission objectives. They got to orbit, and that's a big deal. That's a necessary step. I was pretty confident that they would achieve that because the key thing is being able to re-light the engines once you're up in space, and they've proven that on previous missions, but they never did it to the extent that they would actually go into orbit.

And you know, that's really important because to achieve all of its missions, delivering satellites to space, going to the moon, and serving as a lunar lander for the Artemis program, they have to get to Earth orbit first, and today they did it for the first time. They also delivered operational next-generation Starlink satellites, as you mentioned.

So those are the two primary objectives, and they were met. It wasn't completely without incident. There were some things that went wrong, but they accomplished the big tasks. KEILAR: The video quality is so good. It is just amazing to watch this and just feel that you're really getting the full sense of it. So they want to rapidly reuse their rockets. What are the challenges in developing a heat shield that can work over and over again? Because obviously, that's been something we've seen before.

REISMAN: Yeah, so there's been a lot of focus on the heat shield. In fact, they were able to go out and get the last ship that landed because it didn't explode. It was landed in pretty soft seas, a very gentle landing, and they towed it back. They got data. They even took some of those tiles off of that ship and put them on the one that launched today.

So it was the first reuse of some of their heat thermal protection system. So that's been a big challenge, and it looks like that went well. One thing that was interesting today, coming back from orbit, you're going faster than when you're suborbital, like they have in all the previous test flights.

So with that additional speed comes additional kinetic energy, additional heat that you're going to generate when you hit the atmosphere. And they were able to handle that just fine, and it looks like the thermal protection system on ship did quite well today.

SANCHEZ: They also opted to bring Starship home some hours ahead of its scheduled 10-hour orbit. What did you make of that?

REISMAN: Well, yeah, that was -- there were a couple things that didn't go perfectly according to plan. They did lose three engines, two on the super heavy booster, one on ship, and that one almost caused them not to even try to go to orbit, but they resolved that they could make it. And it's, you know, it is a proof of some redundancy and margin and capability that they still were able to get to orbit despite failing one engine.

That's the nice way to spin it, but you don't want an engine to fail. I mean, it's a rocket. You want your engines to work.

So why did they come home early? You know, I could, you know, maybe they had a problem that was getting worse, maybe it had to do with something to do with that engine that failed, maybe the propellant was getting warm and too much was boiling off. I don't want to speculate, although I just did.

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REISMAN: So -- but we'll find out eventually. SpaceX will let us know what the issue was --