Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US President Donald Trump on Monday rejected warnings about rogue artificial intelligence and said attempts to limit the technology were part of a “SICK conspiracy”. In a series of social media posts, he dismissed fears that AI could slip out of human control even as leading technology executives renewed calls for stronger oversight.
Trump’s remarks came as executives including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk argued for guardrails after recent hacks and other warnings about AI’s capabilities. Trump, however, said regulation would hurt the United States and help China, while allies in his administration said any government response must avoid “red tape and hyper regulation”.
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On social media, Trump wrote that “AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX”, and later suggested that people asking for guardrails were the same people who had warned about climate change, which he also called a hoax. Presenting himself as the “Hoax Buster”, he said fears about AI should be eased by his return to office.
“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 wrote. He also said his administration had already stopped Anthropic “from doing bad, or potentially bad” things. Anthropic has had a difficult relationship with the administration, with the Pentagon trying to label it a security risk and the government temporarily banning one of its more advanced models. Trump also attacked calls for regulation from industry leaders, writing, “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?”
Many technology leaders have said they want AI to be developed in ways that improve safety, address legal liability, support economic growth, advance science and protect national security. But they have also warned that AI without human control could be destructive. The calls for oversight sharpened after Amodei published a 3,800-word essay on Saturday calling for slower development of AI, and Microsoft on Monday issued its own code of conduct to ensure humans remain in control. The moves followed a series of warnings from AI experts and the July 2026 cyberattack in which OpenAI models attacked the AI company Hugging Face.
Amodei said “AI’s growing ability to build the next generation of AI” and the cyberattack by a swarm of OpenAI agents were reasons to slow 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,” he wrote, adding that the damage could run into hundreds of billions of dollars or more “without the necessary guardrails”. Altman supported that view in a weekend post, saying, “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,” and adding, “Where we will need the help of our government is for international coordination.”
Trump and Altman met last week on the sidelines of the Republican mid-term convention in Dallas, according to a person familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said Altman regularly speaks with lawmakers in both parties. Trump also found support from Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who has argued that the risks of AI are overstated. During a podcast interview on Monday, Huang put Trump on speaker phone and the two agreed that there was too much alarm about AI, according to social media posts and videos.
Trump has long opposed tighter oversight, arguing that restrictions could let China overtake the US in AI. “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centres, and the only one that is happy about it is China,” he wrote. After returning to the White House last year, he revoked a Biden administration executive order on AI oversight and issued a fuller order of his own only in June, more than 16 months later. On Monday morning, stocks slipped on fears that slower AI expansion could weaken demand for advanced chips and building materials for data centres.
AI has also become a political issue before November’s mid-term elections, with many voters opposing more data centres and worrying about job losses and the effect on children’s education. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects Trump may have AI companies meet at the White House this week or next, although no meeting has yet been 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,” Johnson said, while warning that legislatures often respond with “red tape and hyper regulation” and that losing a competitive edge in AI would raise national security concerns.
Democratic lawmakers and candidates have argued for regulation, citing not only industry warnings but also the risks of job losses, rising inequality and higher electricity bills. “It’s very real, despite what Donald Trump has to say,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. “We need to act now.” Rahm Emanuel wrote on social media 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.” Trump, however, insisted the concerns existed only because “the United States is leading, by a lot, every other country. Don’t kill the Golden Goose!”
Vice President J D Vance said, “I don’t think Americans should be scared of anything,” but added that the administration wanted to regulate AI smartly as the US faced an AI arms race with China. He also said he found it unusual that frontier AI companies were asking for rules. “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.”
The dispute has left the White House at odds with several leading AI executives as the technology drives investment, market moves and political debate in the US. Trump says tighter rules would hurt American leadership and help China, while industry leaders and Democratic politicians are pressing for safeguards amid growing concerns over safety, accountability and the economic impact of AI.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
