President Donald Trump on Monday opposed calls for greater regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and criticized Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for advocating a slowdown in AI development. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, "The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" He added that the Trump Administration has prevented AI entities from engaging in harmful activities, referring to Amodei as someone pretending to be a 'perfect little angel.' Trump also claimed that the current concerns regarding AI are due to the United States leading in the field.
Amodei had published a blog post titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," arguing for a slower approach to AI development to mitigate risks. This follows a warning from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who suggested that AI technology could pose significant dangers. Other tech leaders, including OpenAI's Sam Altman and SpaceX's Elon Musk, have expressed support for a slowdown in AI development.
Trump emphasized that the U.S. is ahead of China in AI and expressed a desire to maintain that lead, stating, "Whoever wins AI wins." He claimed that AI companies are already subject to sufficient regulation and suggested that there is a conspiracy against AI and data centers, which he believes benefits China.
Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment on Trump's statements. White House AI czar David Sacks also commented on the situation, suggesting that tech companies should self-regulate and questioning the altruism behind calls for a slowdown. He noted that China is unlikely to participate in global regulatory agreements.
Legislative action on AI regulation by Congress appears unlikely before the upcoming midterm elections, with House Speaker Mike Johnson downplaying the urgency for new laws, stating that rushing to regulate could hinder U.S. innovation and competitiveness against China.