US President Donald Trump has dismissed warnings about the potential existential risks of artificial intelligence as a "hoax," drawing a parallel to climate change concerns he also labels as false. This stance contrasts with the approach being signaled by UK ministers, who are preparing to acknowledge the need for international cooperation on AI safety.
Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to assert that AI requires "a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT" as its only safeguard. He further criticized those raising alarms about AI, stating, "The people that say AI is going to destroy the World... are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by 'Climate Change.' That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they're on to the next one."
He accused these individuals of being "Revolutionaries for a Bad and Evil Cause" and suggested they might not have the best interests of the United States in mind. These comments come as tech leaders like Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Elon Musk of SpaceXAI have called for increased government oversight of artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, in the UK, de facto Deputy Prime Minister Louise Haigh is set to address the annual TUC conference, emphasizing the need for greater international cooperation to ensure the safety of emerging AI technology. Haigh plans to acknowledge the significant potential of AI to transform public services and businesses but also stated that ministers must "heed the warnings of those who are at the forefront of developing this technology."
Her remarks will highlight the necessity of working with international partners to safeguard public safety and national security in the face of rapidly advancing AI. This comes amid reports from researchers suggesting a 10 percent or higher probability of super-intelligent AI posing an extinction-level threat to humanity by 2030.
UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds commented on the issue, acknowledging public concerns about AI while expressing confidence in the UK's existing safeguards. He advised against both complacency and hyperbolic reactions, noting that while the UK is a leader in AI safety research, much of the frontier technology originates from the US and China. Andy Burnham, who was scheduled to speak at the conference, has withdrawn due to the death of his father.