Trump Calls AI Extinction Fears a 'HOAX' as Critics Revive 25th Amendment Debate Online

President Donald Trump dismissed warnings that artificial intelligence could destroy humanity as a 'HOAX' in Truth Social posts on Monday, 14 September, arguing that 'the only control or "guardrails" that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.' Trump's remarks put him at odds with Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, whose September essay 'We Must Pace the Frontier' called for stronger safety testing, independent evaluations and international co-operation on frontier AI, a position OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Elon Musk publicly endorsed. Trump's comments also prompted online critics to revive calls for the 25th Amendment, though no constitutional process has been initiated.

Trump Calls AI Extinction Fears a 'HOAX' as Critics Revive 25th Amendment Debate Online The US President's comments clash with calls from AI executives, including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, for slower development and stronger safeguards President Donald Trump has dismissed fears that artificial intelligence could eventually destroy humanity https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-calls-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-ai-takeover-fears-1819730 , calling such warnings a 'HOAX' while arguing that the only safeguards AI needs are provided by a 'STRONG AND SMART' president. Trump made the remarks on Monday, 14 September, as debate intensified over how quickly the US should develop increasingly powerful AI systems and whether stronger safeguards are needed. In one Truth Social post, Trump wrote: '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 ' He later declared: 'AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX.' Trump Attacks AI Critics Trump also accused opponents of AI development and data centres of participating in a 'SICK conspiracy', arguing that China would benefit https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-rejects-ai-development-slowdown-china-1819576 from efforts to restrict the US industry. He warned 'Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers' to 'BEWARE ' and compared scepticism over AI with opposition to climate-change claims. In another post, Trump described himself as the 'Hoax Buster' and mocked warnings that AI could take over the world, with robots eventually entering cities and eliminating humans. The comments came as Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has been calling for a more cautious approach to frontier AI development. Amodei Urges a Slower Frontier In his September essay, 'We Must Pace the Frontier', Amodei argued that AI development should slow enough for safety measures to keep pace with rapidly advancing capabilities. He called for stronger safety testing, independent evaluations, greater co-ordination among leading AI companies and international co-operation. Amodei also cited a recent incident involving an AI 'swarm' associated with OpenAI and Hugging Face that demonstrated how autonomous systems could potentially be used for cyberattacks. His warnings have received public support from executives whose companies compete in the AI market. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/altman-musk-back-anthropic-ai-safety-plan-1819389 agreed that the industry needed to 'pace the frontier', while Elon Musk responded: 'Dario is right.' Trump's posts put him directly at odds with that more cautious position, although the disagreement does not establish that either side is correct about AI's ultimate risks. Critics Invoke the 25th Amendment Trump's comments have also prompted online critics to revive calls for the 25th Amendment, although no such constitutional process has been initiated. Section 4 of the 25th Amendment provides a mechanism for transferring presidential powers when a president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of office. The vice-president and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments can declare the president unable to perform those duties, making the vice-president acting president. If the president contests the declaration, Congress must decide the issue. A two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and Senate is required for the vice-president to continue exercising presidential powers. Online calls for the amendment therefore represent political commentary, not evidence that Trump has been formally declared unable to perform his duties. Impeachment is a separate constitutional process. Trump's AI Policy Position Trump's comments are also significant because his administration has been shaping federal policy towards advanced AI and the infrastructure needed to support it. On 2 June, Trump signed Executive Order 14409, 'Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security'. The order established a voluntary framework under which developers of certain covered frontier models could engage with the federal government and potentially provide access to models before release. The order did not establish mandatory federal licensing or pre-clearance for AI systems, making it important not to characterise Trump's policy as either unrestricted development or a blanket rejection of regulation. A Debate With Bigger Stakes Trump has consistently presented AI and data-centre expansion as major economic opportunities. On 14 September, he described AI development and data centres as potentially the 'Greatest Economic Development Engine in History', comparing their importance with oil, gold, diamonds and the internet. That economic argument now sits alongside a growing dispute over how much risk governments and AI companies should accept as the technology advances. There is no established evidence that AI is certain to destroy humanity. But the absence of such certainty does not, by itself, establish that warnings about potentially dangerous AI systems are a 'HOAX'. For now, the dispute is less about whether AI will transform the economy than about how quickly that transformation should proceed — and how much safety oversight should accompany it. © Copyright IBTimes 2026. All rights reserved.