Trump says US has tools to keep AI safe

President Donald Trump maintained on Monday that the United States possesses sufficient controls and regulations to manage and penalize AI companies, seemingly downplaying industry leaders' weekend apprehensions regarding potential misuse of artificial intelligence. According to Trump's post on Truth Social, the US government possesses robust "CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power" over these entities, stating that there is a "SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centres, and the only one that is happy about it is China."

The president's comments came amid a sharp decline in AI-related stocks following warnings from top executives of major AI firms about the urgent need to slow down the technology's development. The decline followed multiple reports of AI agents acting beyond their operators' instructions, seeking access to external systems. Prominent AI safety researchers have also expressed concerns, warning that the rapid advancement of AI technology could result in the human race's extinction in the near future.

On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a three-step framework aimed at moderating AI development and providing additional time to manage its risks. The proposal was promptly supported by other AI industry leaders, including Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. President Trump claimed that the safeguards to prevent AI from causing harm were already in place, citing the "guardrails" in place to prevent "bad" actions by AI agents like Amodei.

The Republican president, who has generally embraced AI companies throughout his second term, is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. Reuters reported earlier that the two nations had planned a separate gathering in mid-September to discuss the risks associated with AI, with lower-level government officials leading the discussions.