Summary The president accused critics of AI expansion of pursuing a “sick conspiracy” against AI systems and data centres, arguing that such efforts would primarily benefit China.
WASHINGTON (Web Desk) - US President Donald Trump has rejected calls for tighter restrictions on artificial intelligence, arguing that the federal government already has broad criminal and regulatory powers over AI companies and data centres.
Trump made the remarks Monday on his Truth Social platform as debate intensifies in the United States over the rapid development of increasingly powerful AI systems and the risks associated with the technology.
“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a strong and smart (high IQ!) president,” Trump wrote, claiming that the United States has such leadership “in spades”.
The president accused critics of AI expansion of pursuing a “sick conspiracy” against AI systems and data centres, arguing that such efforts would primarily benefit China.
Trump also singled out Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, accusing him of “pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel’” amid growing industry disagreements over how quickly AI capabilities should advance.
The president had also opposed calls on Sunday to slow the expansion of the US AI sector, warning against what he described as “conspiracy theorists, treasonists, traitors, and leakers”.
Trump said the United States was leading its global rivals in AI and would maintain its advantage, declaring: “Whoever wins AI, wins!”
He later argued that the debate over AI development and data centres was largely taking place because the United States was “leading, by a lot, every other country”. “Don’t kill the Golden Goose,” Trump said.
White House warns of ‘Trojan horse’ lobbying
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the rapid development of advanced technology carries risks, saying the administration wanted to ensure that AI was regulated “smartly” while remaining mindful of potential dangers.
Vance also questioned lobbying efforts by major AI companies calling for government restrictions at the state level, describing them as potentially disingenuous.
“You have so many frontier AI tech companies coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them,” Vance told reporters, adding that it felt “a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse”.
He said the administration needed to remain cautious about regulation while ensuring that the United States retained its technological advantage over China.
China rejects ‘fear-mongering’
China rejected Trump's characterisation of the debate, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun warning against what he called “fear-mongering” and confrontation over AI.
Guo said technological development affects the “common well-being of all humanity” and urged countries to promote an “open, inclusive and universally beneficial” environment for AI development.
He also warned against “malicious competition” that could undermine global governance of the technology.
The dispute comes as some AI industry leaders call for a more cautious approach to the development and deployment of increasingly capable models.
Anthropic CEO Amodei published an essay on Saturday arguing that AI companies should deliberately slow the pace of capability growth to ensure that safety measures can keep pace with increasingly advanced systems.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has backed the broader idea of matching AI development with stronger safety measures, saying his company would adopt similar approaches.
