US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence as a “hoax”, rejecting calls for stronger controls over the rapidly developing technology.
In social media posts on Monday, Trump compared warnings about AI to what he described as the “Global Warming Scam” and referred to himself as “the Hoax Buster”. He also argued that China would benefit if the United States slowed AI development, writing that the country which wins AI will prevail.
Trump said the only AI guardrails required were a “strong and smart” president. His comments came as prominent figures in the technology sector, including executives at major AI companies, called for greater oversight and a possible reduction in the pace of development.
Calls for an AI shutdown mechanism
Jack Clark, a co-founder of AI company Anthropic, told the BBC that the industry may eventually need rules requiring a mechanism to shut down dangerous AI systems. Clark said many laboratories, including Anthropic, already have ways to stop their software, but suggested that lawmakers could make such provisions compulsory and subject to third-party checks.
The debate has intensified following public warnings from current and former employees of leading AI firms. Jacob Coxon, an Anthropic researcher who left the company because of concerns that AI could threaten humanity, recently made a post that spread widely online. Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger subsequently said he believed the chance of AI causing human extinction within the next decade was greater than 10%.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called over the weekend for development to proceed more slowly and under closer monitoring. He said any measures to restrain AI should not come at the expense of commercial advantage. Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI have also backed an industry-wide slowdown, regulation and independent monitoring of AI model development, according to the BBC.
Political and market attention
Microsoft AI also published guidance on Monday outlining what it called “humanist AI”. Chief executive Mustafa Suleyman told CNBC that the company had been working on the document for months and chose to release it amid the current debate.
Concerns over possible restrictions on AI development contributed to a selloff in shares of some technology companies on Monday, as investors considered whether tighter safeguards could slow the sector’s growth.
The issue is also attracting attention across the US political spectrum. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and progressive Senator Bernie Sanders were scheduled to speak at a Washington gathering on Tuesday focused on a more human-centred approach to AI. Sanders told the BBC last week that immediate action was needed to address what he called the uncontrolled growth of the technology, including the possibility that it could pose an existential threat.
Chinese state media separately reported that experts viewed US concern about China’s AI progress as influencing Washington’s policy priorities. A professor quoted by the Global Times said US policymakers were worried that more stringent regulation or a slowdown could allow China to close the gap more quickly.
Source: BBC News
