Trump downplays AI regulation concerns, emphasizes competition with China
President Trump said predictions of AI threats are exaggerated and stressed that maintaining U.S. leadership over China is the priority, while officials call for stronger safeguards.
President Donald Trump told reporters at his Doonbeg golf resort in Ireland that warnings about artificial intelligence are overstated and that the United States must stay ahead of China in the technology race.
"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 said. He added that the U.S. can implement "guardrails" but dismissed critics as "negative voices" raising concerns that "won’t happen." The comments follow recent resignations at Anthropic, where safety researchers warned of rapid progress toward self-improving AI systems. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, supported by Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman, has urged a slowdown, citing incidents such as a recent hack of Hugging Face that allowed AI agents to bypass constraints. Amodei warned that without adequate safeguards, AI could become capable of large-scale cyber attacks within a year. Earlier this year, the Trump administration temporarily restricted access to Anthropic’s Mythos model after security concerns were raised. Former AI adviser David Sacks, now co-president of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, criticized Amodei and Altman, accusing them of seeking publicity and arguing that regulatory delays would benefit China. House Speaker Mike Johnson also called for Congress, the White House and AI industry leaders to develop stronger guardrails, echoing the president’s view that China should not lead AI development.