Trump dismisses calls for AI slowdown from leading tech CEOs

Trump downplays AI risks, saying he wants to maintain the US’s lead over China in the emerging technology.

US President Donald Trump walks off the course after taking part in the trophy presentation at the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Ireland, on September 13, 2026 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP] (AP)

US President Donald Trump has downplayed the need for his administration to place checks on artificial intelligence development, saying he is worried about ceding the US’s lead to China.

Speaking to reporters during his trip to Ireland on Sunday, Trump also said he acknowledged the need for some regulation but did not provide further details on potential measures.

“We can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that … shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen,” Trump told reporters after watching the Irish Open at his resort in Doonbeg.

He said that with the US leading the development of AI over China, “frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins.”

Trump’s comments came a day after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a blog post saying the AI industry must slow the pace of improving the technology’s capabilities to allow time for guardrails.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agreed with Amodei, adding that this was a primary topic of discussion at OpenAI in recent weeks. Elon Musk also publicly agreed with Amodei’s post.

The warnings follow ex-Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon’s public resignation over concerns about AI’s potential to surpass human control, which sent ripple effects throughout the industry and Washington.

Multiple US lawmakers made calls for legislation to control AI development following Coxon’s resignation, including Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who introduced a bipartisan House bill to prevent AI from operating without human oversight.

Concerns over AI have become a major election-cycle issue amid the explosion of computing warehouses being built in numerous towns across the US. The new construction has raised alarms about diminishing water supplies and rising electricity bills.

Trump has maintained support for data centres, despite their increasing unpopularity among the American public.

Former White House AI czar David Sacks, who now co-chairs the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, challenged warnings from AI leaders, saying the industry is setting the pace for development and can slow it down independently.

“Demanding your preferred regulatory framework as the price of that will look like blackmail of the public and the political system. So just do it,” Sacks said.

特朗普淡化人工智能的风险，称他希望保持美国在这一新兴技术领域对中国的领先地位。

2026年9月13日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在爱尔兰杜恩贝格的特朗普国际高尔夫球场参加完爱尔兰公开赛的颁奖仪式后离开球场。[朱莉娅·德马雷·尼金森/美联社] (美联社)

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普淡化了其政府对人工智能发展进行限制的必要性，称他担心美国会将领先地位拱手让给中国。

特朗普周日在访问爱尔兰期间对记者表示，他承认需要进行一些监管，但没有提供有关潜在措施的更多细节。

“我们可以设置护栏，我们可以做这做那，但我认为有很多负面势力在炒作这件事……他们不应该炒作这件事，他们炒作的事情根本不会发生，”特朗普在杜恩贝格度假村观看完爱尔兰公开赛后告诉记者。

他表示，鉴于美国在人工智能发展方面领先于中国，“坦白说，我希望保持这种局面，因为谁在人工智能领域获胜，谁就赢了。”

特朗普发表上述言论的前一天，Anthropic 首席执行官 Dario Amodei 发表了一篇博客文章，称人工智能行业必须放慢提升技术能力的步伐，以便为安全措施留出时间。

OpenAI首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼同意阿莫迪的观点，并补充说，这正是OpenAI近几周来讨论的主要议题。埃隆·马斯克也公开赞同阿莫迪的观点。

此前，前 Anthropico 和 OpenAI 研究员 Jacob Coxon 因担心人工智能有可能超越人类控制而公开辞职，这一举动在整个行业和华盛顿引起了连锁反应。

在科克森辞职后，多位美国议员呼吁立法控制人工智能的发展，其中包括民主党众议员乔什·戈特海默和共和党众议员迈克·劳勒，他们提出了一项两党共同支持的众议院法案，以防止人工智能在没有人类监督的情况下运行。

随着美国各地城镇大量建造计算机仓库，人工智能问题已成为选举周期中的一个重要议题。这些新建项目引发了人们对水资源短缺和电费上涨的担忧。

尽管数据中心在美国公众中越来越不受欢迎，但特朗普仍然坚持支持数据中心。

前白宫人工智能沙皇大卫·萨克斯（David Sacks）现任总统科技顾问委员会联合主席，他对人工智能领导者的警告提出质疑，称该行业正在引领发展步伐，并且可以独立地减缓发展速度。

萨克斯说：“以你偏好的监管框架为条件，会被视为对公众和政治体系的敲诈勒索。所以，就这么做吧。”