Donald Trump has characterized warnings about artificial intelligence posing an existential threat to humanity as a "hoax," directly opposing the concerns raised by executives at major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Recent statements from an Anthropic safety researcher suggested a greater than 10% probability that AI could cause human extinction within the next decade, with no coordinated plan in place to prevent such an outcome. In response, leaders from prominent AI firms have advocated for a global slowdown in AI development and urged the U.S. government to implement guardrails, including third-party verifiable kill switches.
Trump, however, took to social media to assert that these AI safety concerns are part of a "sick conspiracy" aimed at hindering AI progress. He drew parallels between AI safety warnings and what he termed the "Global Warming Scam," advocating instead for an acceleration of data center development. He stated, "The people that say AI is going to destroy the World, and that Data Centers are bad for your neighborhood, are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by ‘Climate Change.’ That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they’re on to the next one."
He positioned himself as the "Hoax Buster," asserting that the only necessary "guardrails" for AI would be a "strong and smart" president. During a conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a call from Trump, which was played aloud. Trump conveyed, "I’m telling you it’s all a hoax… Data centers are great and they make people wealthy and they make states wealthy. It’s the oil of the next 20-25 years. It’s bigger than the internet. They’re just playing right into the hands of a lot of people who don’t want to see it happen... The robots are not gonna be taking over the world. That’s not gonna happen."
This stance follows a statement from Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, who resigned alleging that companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives." Coxon claimed that neither company is acting responsibly and that superhuman AI systems could pose significant dangers. He noted that while Anthropic understands the stakes, they are caught in a competitive race, whereas OpenAI staff have not fully internalized the civilizational risks. Coxon suggested that a temporary ban on improving model capabilities might be necessary.
Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's head of Alignment Science, corroborated Coxon's warnings, stating that "we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!" He estimated a ">10% within the next decade" risk and admitted that Anthropic does not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence.
Despite these concerns, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Elon Musk of Grok have expressed a willingness to cooperate on slowing AI development, though Altman clarified this would not mean halting progress. Altman suggested that interventions like safety cases and monitoring are costly but worthwhile, and that American competitive pressure should not lead to recklessness. He also indicated a need for government help in international coordination.
Trump, however, reiterated his belief in existing U.S. regulatory power over AI companies. He stated, "The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" He also criticized Dario Amodei for "now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel.’"
CNN reports that some White House officials are concerned about Trump's apparent lack of apprehension regarding AI dangers. Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the administration's concern but described the AI companies' calls for government oversight as a potential "Trojan horse."