The White House will reportedly host executives from tech companies including Amazon, Google, and Facebook on Thursday to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. According to The Washington Post, representatives from 38 major US firms will attend the meeting to talk about how the Trump administration can do more through funding and regulation to bolster the country’s AI efforts.

The news is the latest sign that after receiving sustained criticism for it lack of action on the subject, the White House is finally starting to deal with the challenges and promises of AI head-on. Just a year ago, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he was “not at all” worried about robots replacing American workers — a remark which was met with scorn from the tech industry, and which was seen as representative of the administration’s ignorance.

Although the US is generally thought to be the world’s leader in AI, experts have warned that the country is not doing enough to sustain its dominant position, or manage future dangers. Other nations have been much more proactive. France announced this year it would invest $1.8 billion (€1.5 billion) in AI research by 2022; the UK is putting hundreds of millions of dollars into the field in a bid to take the lead in AI ethics; and last year, China unveiled ambitious plans to become the world’s dominant force in AI by 2030. A goal that many experts thinks is plausible.

America, by comparison, has announced no such co-ordinated effort or major boost to funding. Since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, there have been some minor advances though. In September, for example, the White House said it would commit at least $200 million for grants for education in STEM subjects, and last month, the FDA gave its first approval to an AI system that would make diagnoses (of eye disease) without the intervention of a doctor. The White House has also highlighted its approach to regulations of drones and self-driving cars, indicating that it will do more to give companies and cities free rein to experiment with the technology.

One major topic it hasn’t yet broached, though, is the effects of automation on the labor market. Although estimates of how many US jobs could be lost to automation have varied in recent years, economists say the focus needs to be on re-training employees for new careers.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Dean Garfield, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, said it had been “slow ramp [up]” for the Trump administration, but that the government was now focusing “on the right things.” Garfield added that Thursday’s private meeting would be “an opportunity to accelerate toward success and leave that slow start in the rearview mirror.”