Trump was wading into a debate over AI’s catastrophic risks ignited by a viral social media post from a former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher. The post cautioned that the leading AI companies have been “gambling with our lives” and that some researchers working on the technology “believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”
The post and the discourse it stirred up — along with recent alarming incidents where AI agents have gone rogue to launch hacking attacks — have prompted fresh calls from bipartisan lawmakers to rein in the fast-evolving technology.
The president’s remarks notably contrasted with those of some of his fellow Republicans.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Commerce Committee, said this week that the AI risks are “deeply concerning” in an interview with POLITICO’s “The Conversation” with Dasha Burns, while also stressing the U.S. cannot fall behind China.
He said his committee may hold a markup this month on AI legislation, including a bill he is working on with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to address AI uses that create biological and nuclear threats.
Meanwhile, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) called on Congress to convene a special session on AI to address its effects in a social media post.
For his part, Trump has been staunchly supportive of the American AI industry, which has been driving economic growth and lifting up the stock market. The president also broke with some Republican elected officials and voters calling for a slowdown in data center construction over energy and land-use concerns.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump said on social media last month. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”