Trump calls concerns over rogue AI a 'sick conspiracy', opposes calls for guardrails
President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out against concerns about rogue artificial intelligence, claiming that any efforts to limit the technology are part of a "SICK conspiracy."
"AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX," Trump posted on social media, later suggesting that those calling for guardrails on the technology had also warned about climate change, which he also called a hoax.
The president was pushing back against calls by tech leaders such as Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and SpaceXAI's Elon Musk to have greater government oversight of AI. The rapidly evolving technology has become a source of controversy after a series of hacks in recent months that showed AI agents can conspire to deceive humans.
Many tech leaders generally say their goal is to develop the technology in ways that promote safety, address legal liability, feed economic growth, advance science and preserve national security. But they have also expressed concerns that an AI unshackled from human control could be destructive -- a claim Trump rejected in a series of heated social media posts as he claimed to be the "Hoax Buster."
Trump maintained that his presence in the Oval Office should assuage any fears about AI.
"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!" Trump posted.
Trump specifically said his administration has already stopped the AI company Anthropic "from doing bad, or potentially bad" things. Anthropic has endured an uncomfortable relationship with the Trump administration, with the Pentagon trying to label the company a security risk and the government issuing a temporary ban of one of its more advanced models.
The president also criticised the business acumen of the tech CEOs seeking government oversight, posting on social media, "when, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an Industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion and bankruptcy?"
Trump's refusal to regulate comes as AI execs warn of threats
Amodei, the Anthropic CEO, published a 3,800-word essay Saturday that called for slower development of AI. Microsoft on Monday published its own code of conduct to ensure that humans control AI. The actions come after a series of warnings by AI experts about the technologies' capabilities and the July 2026 cyberattack by OpenAI models on the AI company Hugging Face.
Amodei cited "AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI" and the cyberattack by the swarm of OpenAI agents as reasons to slow the pace of development.
"Given the accelerating rate of AI capability development, it's my worry that in 6-12 months such a swarm could be capable of taking over the entire internet," Amodei wrote, adding that the damages could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars or more "without the necessary guardrails."
Altman of OpenAI seconded that perspective in a weekend post on social media.
"Pacing will be well worth this cost; no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring," Altman said. "Where we will need the help of our government is for international coordination."
Trump and Altman did meet last week on the sidelines of the Republican mid-term convention in Dallas, a person familiar with the meeting said on condition of anonymity. The person stressed that Altman regularly talks with lawmakers in both parties.
Trump does have some support from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has described the risks of AI as overblown. The president phoned the co-founder of the chipmaker on Monday during an interview Huang was having for a podcast. Huang put the president on speaker and they agreed there was excessive alarmism about AI, according to social media posts and videos.
Trump sees AI regulation as helping China
The president has opposed such efforts to constrain AI and claims that doing so could cause China to eclipse America on the technology.
"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centres, and the only one that is happy about it is China," Trump said.
The president has long resisted efforts for greater government oversight of AI, embracing his philosophy going back to 2016 of "I alone can fix it." He returned to the White House last year by revoking a Biden administration executive order on AI oversight and only provided a fuller order of his own more than 16 months later this past June.
The prospect of slower AI buildout led stocks to slip in Monday morning trading, as demand for advanced computer chips and construction materials for data centres could fall. But Trump's frustration comes as AI has also emerged as a political liability ahead of November's mid-term elections, with many voters opposing the construction of additional data centres and expressing worries that AI could lead to job losses and undermine the education of children.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, told reporters Monday that he expects Trump will have the AI companies potentially meet at the White House this week or next week, saying that the sit-down has yet to be scheduled.
"There will be a deliberate discussion about the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety, and what role, if any, the government has to play in that," said Johnson, adding that legislatures can tend to respond problematically with "red tape and hyper regulation" and that the loss of competitive edge on AI would be a national security concern.
Trump's handling of AI is a mid-term issue
Many Democratic lawmakers and candidates see the need to regulate AI, heeding not just the issues raised by companies but the risks of job losses, rising inequality and higher electricity bills. Trump's refusal to address the risks has given them a political opening going into the November mid-term elections.
"It's very real, despite what Donald Trump has to say," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said at the Capitol. "We need to act now."
Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor, Democratic congressman and White House chief of staff, said in a social media post that Amodei's essay was "an admission that we're driving down a dark, winding road on wet pavement with the headlights off. And where's President Trump? Looks like he nodded off again."
But the administration has repeatedly sought to minimise the risks being highlighted by AI companies.
Trump in a separate Monday social media post said the concerns about AI are only because "the United States is leading, by a lot, every other country. Don't kill the Golden Goose!" The AI buildout has accounted for a large share of the economic growth during Trump's second term and the administration has bet that the technology will fuel additional productivity gains.
Vice President J D Vance told reporters Monday morning about AI, "I don't think Americans should be scared of anything."
Vance, speaking as he prepared to fly to Kansas for a mid-term election campaign event, said the Trump administration is concerned about AI but wants to make sure it is regulating the technology smartly, warning that the US is in an AI arms race against China.
"Personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse," Vance said. "So, I think we just have to be careful about this."
