President Trump has sharply criticized calls for the artificial intelligence industry to slow its development, labeling safety concerns as a "sick conspiracy" that could benefit China. The former president's remarks, made via Truth Social on Monday, represent a firm stance against the growing apprehension surrounding the rapid advancement of AI technologies.
Trump specifically targeted Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI firm Anthropic, who recently published an essay urging global tech giants to implement guardrails and pace the development of AI models. In his social media post, Trump asserted, "The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things,’ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel’ – and we will continue to do so!"
He further stated, "We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!"
Trump's comments come amid increasing public and expert concerns about the potential risks of advanced AI. Amodei's call for a slower pace was echoed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The urgency surrounding these warnings was amplified by AI researcher Jacob Coxon, a former employee of Anthropic and OpenAI, who quit his job to warn that AI "could kill us all by the end of the decade."
Despite these warnings, the Trump administration has historically favored a less regulatory approach to the AI industry. An executive order signed by Trump in June of his second term encouraged a hands-off policy toward AI regulation, and AI-related spending has been cited as a factor supporting the economy.
Anthropic has previously clashed with the Trump administration over AI safety. The Department of War designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk after the company declined to grant the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI tools for surveillance and military applications.
As Trump prepares for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24, the international dimension of AI development becomes more pronounced. Amodei's proposed plan emphasizes global cooperation among tech companies, a strategy that faces potential hurdles with nations like China. Chinese officials have signaled reluctance to cede control over their AI development, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson stating that "fear mongering, confrontation, competition will just disrupt [the] process of global AI governance." The state-backed Global Times has also characterized calls for China to slow its AI progress as a "Cold War" tactic.
Amodei himself acknowledged the difficulty of achieving global coordination, noting to CBS News that "the incentives to pull ahead and the military advantage that you get from that are so large."