Trump says he wants to leave AI ‘exactly where it is’ ahead of Xi meeting

President Donald Trump announced that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a major topic of discussion during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. However, Trump emphasized that both leaders intend to maintain the current status quo regarding AI. In a social media post, Trump referred to AI as "Super Intelligence (SI)" and stated that China's stance on the matter aligns with his own.

The president highlighted the role of the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a "guardrail" in regulating AI. Earlier this week, Trump claimed that the US already has measures in place to govern and penalize AI companies, seemingly downplaying concerns voiced by industry experts about potential misuse of the technology that could harm individuals.

Xi's visit to Washington follows widespread concern about the possible dangers posed by AI, which was raised this month when an Anthropic researcher warned that the technology could potentially annihilate humanity by the end of the decade. Despite these apprehensions, analysts suggest that intense competition in AI will likely prevent anything beyond symbolic agreements from being reached.

Trump has so far shown little interest in addressing AI-related concerns and has largely welcomed technology companies in his second term. He stated last week that critics of AI development were aiding those who wish to prevent its advancement, potentially including political adversaries or even China. Key figures from prominent American technology firms are expected to attend Trump's state dinner at the White House for Xi on Thursday, including Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.