A push by big AI companies for government regulation is being framed as an attempt to lock ordinary people out of cheap, powerful AI — bad for consumers and small businesses, good for OpenAI, Anthropic and other insiders.

• DeepSeek released a new model offering frontier-level intelligence at a tiny fraction of the cost, comparable to a $250 bill dropping to $2.50.
• Right after the price cut, rival AI firms that normally compete fiercely united to ask Trump for tougher regulation.
• Trump refused, saying companies that want to slow down are free to do so on their own.
• The "AI is dangerous, slow it down" message is seen as cover for building a government moat that protects incumbents from free, open-source competitors.
• People can now download open-source models and run them on their own servers at home or at work, cutting out paid AI providers entirely.

Outlook: Expect the fight over AI regulation to intensify as cheap open-source models keep undercutting the big players.