Trump has dismissed AI fears as ‘hoax’, insisting US safeguards suffice and warning slowdown benefits China.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected calls to artificial intelligence development, arguing that doing so could give China an advantage over the United States.
“We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for every American family.”
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Johnson also argued that AI companies should largely be left to police themselves.
“They can self-regulate. They don’t need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should,” he said.
His comments come as calls to rein in AI are growing across the political spectrum amid concerns about what the technology could mean for jobs, energy costs and public safety.
Unlikely allies call for AI limits #
Unlikely allies US Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump and prominent voice on the US right, both called for restrictions on AI on Tuesday, as they appeared at the same event in Washington.
Sanders warned of what he called the “growing threat” of AI and said the industry should face binding safety rules.
“AI has the potential to eliminate tens of millions of jobs, wiping out entire professions and making it harder for our young people to enter the workforce,” he said.
He criticised tech executives, including Elon Musk, for concentrating control over the technology.
“As many scientists believe could happen, this technology will escape human control with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Sanders said.
He cited recent research in which scientists used AI to design new viruses, a breakthrough that has raised concerns about potential biosecurity risks, adding that “in the wrong hands, this could lead to new bioweapons and a potential global pandemic that could lead to the deaths of tens of millions of people”.
Sanders also called on Trump to use his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate a treaty to AI development.
Bannon called AI “the defining issue of our time” and said the US needed to slow its development to understand the risks, praising Sanders’ description of the risks and arguing the issue needed to transcend partisan politics.
“I don’t think you could find any two harder partisans than Bernie Sanders on the left and Steve Bannon on the right,” he said.
Trump calls AI fears a ‘hoax’ #
On Monday, Trump downplayed concerns raised by industry leaders about the potential misuse of AI, saying the US already has safeguards in place.
In a series of posts, he dismissed fears that AI could pose an existential threat as a “hoax” and argued that existing government powers were enough to keep companies in check.
“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” Trump wrote, adding: “WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!”
He also accused critics of AI and data centres of engaging in a “sick conspiracy”, arguing that efforts to slow the industry would ultimately benefit China.
Speaker Johnson, who echoed Trump’s concerns about falling behind China on Tuesday, did leave some room for guardrails, saying they would have to be put in place in a balanced and thoughtful way.
“I think you need independent auditors. I think you need transparency from the people who are developing this,” he said.
Johnson also said he spoke to Trump on Monday night and that executives from major AI companies would be summoned to the White House for a meeting within the next week.