Former President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed concerns that artificial intelligence could lead to the end of the human race, stating "those are things that won't happen." He simultaneously emphasized the critical importance of the United States maintaining its technological superiority over China in the field of AI.
"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 Doonbeg, Ireland, where he was attending the Irish Open.
Trump's remarks come amid growing debate surrounding the potential risks of advanced AI. Earlier in the week, Jacob Coxon, a former researcher for AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic, expressed alarm in an interview on Fox News. Coxon described AI as "possibly the most dangerous technology that humanity has ever created" and warned that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, potentially as soon as 2030.
Coxon told Fox News anchor Bret Baier that while humanity has developed methods to control nuclear weapons, similar controls for AI do not yet exist. "So unfortunately, we know how to control nuclear weapons pretty much, we don't yet know how to control AI," Coxon stated.
House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson also weighed in on the issue during a CNN interview Sunday morning. Johnson cautioned against implementing a moratorium on AI development, stating, "We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us." He encouraged AI leaders to convene in Washington for discussions with Congressional leaders and the administration to explore potential government roles in regulating the technology.
Johnson added that the government's role should not be to "smother American innovation."
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama, according to The New York Times, expressed his own concerns about the rapid advancement of AI in private. He reportedly stated at a private gathering that "This is something that is moving very fast in private hands, and if we don't get on top of it, I think can be dangerous." The Times reported that Obama also urged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to initiate a public conversation on AI regulation once he potentially becomes Speaker after the upcoming elections, suggesting, "Once you are speaker, I would strongly urge that the Democrats put together a framework for a very public conversation."