“Whoever wins AI wins”: Trump pushes back against growing calls to slow development
Trump dismissed concerns over extreme AI risks as he defended U.S. leadership in the technology. At the same time, Anthropic researchers and executives are calling for international coordination and a slower pace of development.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday likened critics of artificial intelligence to “very negative forces” raising scenarios that will not happen, and said he wanted to ensure that the United States remains the industry leader.
“We’re leading China in AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins,” Trump told reporters at his golf course in Ireland when asked whether the AI industry should slow down or face greater regulation.
“We could put guardrails. We can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of very negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen.”
Trump has previously resisted efforts to amplify concerns about AI.
The public debate over AI has intensified in the United States after two Anthropic researchers warned that rapidly advancing technology could lead to the extinction of the human race in the not-too-distant future.
During Trump’s second term, his administration has largely embraced AI companies, while executives at leading AI and other technology companies have supported many of his initiatives.
AI executives have also poured money into the midterm election campaign ahead of the Nov. 3 vote that will determine control of Congress. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, has already spent millions of dollars backing Republican candidates and is expected to play a major role in voter-turnout efforts this fall.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, warned this year of risks posed by Anthropic’s AI model.
Following the researchers’ warnings, some AI executives have begun calling for a slower pace of development.
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On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei outlined a three-step framework intended to slow the pace of development and create more time to manage its risks. The proposal immediately received endorsements from several other executives at major AI companies, including Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
In an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Amodei said competition between U.S. and Chinese AI companies was the “toughest dilemma” in trying to establish a “speed limit” for AI development.
“We shouldn’t kid ourselves, because the incentives to pull ahead and the military advantage that you get from that are so large that the ability to check that the other side isn’t cheating has to be ironclad,” he said. “So I think that’s going to be the work of years, and honestly, I don’t know if it’s possible.”
Jacob Coxon, one of the Anthropic researchers who resigned before issuing the warnings, called for the United States to work with other countries to ensure that AI development proceeds at a safe pace.
“I feel we need international coordination, or else we risk running the same race with China, which could be equally dangerous,” Coxon said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
