Trump pushes back as AI leaders call for tougher frontier-model regulation

US President Donald Trump dismissed calls for stricter regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) on Monday, asserting that the United States already possesses adequate safeguards to oversee and prosecute AI companies. In a message on Truth Social, Trump stated that the nation has "a STRONG and SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT", implying that existing controls are sufficient. He also suggested that doubts about US AI development could potentially benefit China.

The criticism emerged after industry leaders warned of the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI models. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed mandatory independent audits of frontier models in an essay published Saturday. The proposal, endorsed by several major AI executives such as Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, aimed to slow the pace of AI development and provide governments and industry more time to manage potential risks.

Vice President JD Vance expressed skepticism about AI executives seeking government regulation of the sector, stating he felt "a little bit weird" about companies pleading with the government to regulate them. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang proposed voluntary measures for companies to slow or pace their AI development if they felt their operations were becoming uncontrolled.

AI-related stocks experienced a decline worldwide on Monday following the industry leaders' calls for slower development. Trump described the industry's request for regulation as a "hoax" and described data centers as the "oil of the next 20, 25 years", emphasizing their economic importance. He was set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington next week, where discussions on AI risks were expected to be among the topics.