{
  "id": 9633011,
  "title": "Peter Thiel says America's anti-AI backlash is a self-inflicted wound",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/peter-thiel-says-americas-anti-ai-backlash-is-a-self-inflicted-wound",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-24T21:18:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-ai-backlash-united-states-china-2026-9"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Peter Thiel suggested that America's negative sentiment towards artificial intelligence is self-inflicted, rather than a result of China's influence. In an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, Thiel dismissed the notion that China is driving the anti-AI backlash in the US. Thiel believed that the US bears more responsibility for the growing skepticism around AI. He criticized the Pope for publishing an AI encyclical, stating that Americans are more likely to trust the Pope's views on the matter than social media posts from China. Thiel argued that the Pope was acting as a \"useful idiot\" for the CCP, but he was not an agent of the communists. Thiel's comments come as part of a larger conversation among tech executives, such as Garry Tan and Kevin O'Leary, who have accused China of fueling the anti-AI sentiment.",
  "summary": "\"It's often somewhat too easy to simply blame it on China,\" Peter Thiel told Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner on the \"MD Meets\" podcast.",
  "key_points": [
    "Peter Thiel claims America's AI skepticism is self-inflicted.",
    "Thiel blames US for anti-AI backlash, not China.",
    "Thiel criticizes Pope's AI encyclical, claims it serves CCP."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Politico EU",
        "title": "Peter Thiel slams pope’s AI encyclical as gift to Chinese Communist Party",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/peter-thiel-slams-popes-ai-encyclical-as-gift-to-chinese-communist",
        "published": "2026-09-24T18:43:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}