Trump to meet Xi Jinping as Congress considers AI superintelligence ban

President Donald Trump will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, later today, marking the start of a three-day state visit that is expected to address artificial intelligence (AI) issues. The meeting follows a call from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for the two nations to establish a dialogue on AI comparable to Cold-War communications between the United States and the Soviet Union.

"Governments with the greatest AI capabilities have the greatest responsibilities to humanity, to establish channels for dialogue, transparency, trust and cooperation," Guterres said.

Tech leaders including Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang are slated to attend a White House state dinner on Thursday. Their presence underscores the high profile of AI on the agenda.

At the same time, progressive lawmakers Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar are set to introduce a bill that would ban the development of artificial superintelligence, pause advanced AI work until federal guidelines are in place, and create a Department of Artificial Intelligence to oversee the sector. Sanders told the Associated Press, "It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘slow it down.’ Do we really want to develop a super intelligence that when it becomes smarter than human beings could act independently of human control? I don’t think we do."

Congress has taken limited action on AI regulation despite warnings from industry executives about potential catastrophic risks. State media reported that Xi traveled to the United States with his wife Peng Liyuan, senior aide Cai Qi and foreign minister Wang Yi.

In unrelated developments, President Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to reiterate threats toward Iran, comment on the war in Ukraine, defend recent actions in Latin America, and reject proposals for a global governance framework for AI. He also signed an agreement concerning Greenland, which the Greenlandic prime minister described as affirming NATO ties while respecting Danish sovereignty.

Later, Vice President JD Vance and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced the removal of 760,000 enrollees from Affordable Care Act marketplaces.