Trump is taking a hands-off approach to AI regulation to preserve the US lead over China, ahead of a summit with Xi Jinping, where AI safety is a top issue (Bloomberg)

US President Donald Trump dismissed warnings that artificial intelligence could lead to human extinction, emphasizing his focus on maintaining a competitive advantage over China. The researchers argued that the technology could pose an existential threat to humanity, but Trump claimed he had no such concerns. When asked if he feared AI, Trump replied, "No, I don’t have any."

He expressed concern that failing to lead in AI could put the US in a "very bad position." The unease over AI escalated as former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon warned that the companies were pushing "self-improving" AI models that could become too difficult to control, potentially resulting in human extinction. This warning was echoed by Evan Hubinger, a current Anthropic employee, who expressed a 10% probability of AI causing human extinction within the next decade.

Despite these concerns, Trump remained unconcerned, stating that the US was currently leading China in AI development by a significant margin.