US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over artificial intelligence safety as a “hoax” while rejecting calls for stronger safeguards on the technology.
Trump’s comments came as warnings from AI industry figures about the potential dangers of increasingly powerful systems intensified. Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, told the BBC that governments may eventually need to require AI companies to have independently verifiable “kill switches” for dangerous systems.
Clark said most major AI laboratories already have ways to shut down their models if necessary. However, he suggested lawmakers could eventually make such measures mandatory.
Trump criticised calls for greater regulation in a series of social media posts on Monday. He compared concerns about AI to what he called the “Global Warming Scam” and the “RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX”. The US president also described himself as the “Hoax Buster” and argued that the main safeguard AI needs is a “strong and smart” president.
Trump claimed there was a “sick conspiracy” against AI and data centres and warned that China could benefit if US development slows. His comments come amid growing debate over whether rapid AI development should be slowed or more closely monitored.
Growing Concerns
Chinese state media also weighed into the debate, suggesting US concerns over China’s rapid progress in AI could influence Washington’s regulatory decisions. Microsoft AI became the latest major technology company to outline measures for limiting the risks associated with advanced AI models. The company published guidance describing its approach as “humanist AI”.
Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said the guidance had been in development for months but was released amid the growing public debate.
Concerns have also emerged within Anthropic. Researcher Jacob Coxon recently drew attention after leaving the company over fears that AI could eventually threaten humanity. Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger subsequently estimated that the possibility of AI causing human extinction within the next decade was above 10%.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has called for AI development to slow down and receive closer monitoring. He has also argued that efforts to regulate the technology should not eliminate commercial advantages.