Trump dismisses need for guardrails as a 'SICK conspiracy' against AI

Trump said Monday that he alone could serve as enough guardrail against rogue AI, calling efforts to limit the technology a SICK conspiracy in Washington. He pushed back on calls from Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk for stronger government oversight. The dispute comes after AI-related hacks, warnings from experts, and a July 2026 cyberattack on Hugging Face. Trump and Vice President JD Vance argued the U.S. must regulate smartly while staying ahead of China.

Trump said the administration has already stopped Anthropic from doing bad, or potentially bad, things.

Amodei published a 3,800-word essay on Saturday calling for slower AI development.

Microsoft on Monday published a code of conduct saying humans should control AI.

Published Sep 15, 2026 12:16 am KST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Amgen Irish Open 2026, at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare, Ireland, Sunday. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he would be a sufficient guardrail against rogue artificial intelligence, claiming that any efforts to limit the technology was part of a “SICK conspiracy.”

Trump was pushing back against calls by tech leaders such as Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk to have greater government oversight of AI. Their goal is to ensure the technology is developed in ways that promote safety, address legal liability, feed economic growth, advance science and preserve national security.

The president maintained that his presence in the Oval Office should assuage any fears about AI, which has become a source of controversy after a series of hacks in recent months that showed AI agents could be working to deceive humans.

“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!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump specifically said that the administration has already stopped the AI company Anthropic “from doing bad, or potentially bad” things. Anthropic has endured an uncomfortable relationship with the Trump administration, with the Pentagon trying to label the company's models a security risk and a temporary ban of one of its more advanced models.

Amodei published a 3,800-word essay on Saturday that called for slower development of AI. Microsoft on Monday published its own code of conduct to ensure that humans control AI. The actions come after a series of warnings by AI experts about the technologies' capabilities and the July 2026 cyberattack by OpenAI models on the AI company Hugging Face.

But the president has opposed such efforts to constrain AI and claims that doing so could cause China to eclipse America on AI.

“There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China,” Trump said.

The president has long resisted efforts for greater government oversight of AI, embracing his philosophy going back to 2016 of “I alone can fix it.” He returned to the White House last year by revoking a Biden administration executive order on AI oversight and only providing a fuller order of his own more than 16 months later this past June.

The prospect of slower AI buildout led stocks to slip in Monday morning trading, as demand for advanced computer chips and construction materials for data centers could fall. But Trump's frustration comes as AI has also emerged as a political liability ahead of November's midterm elections, with many voters opposing the construction of additional data centers and expressing worries that AI could lead to job losses and undermine the education of children.

Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor, Democratic congressman and White House chief of staff, said on Saturday that the Anthropic CEO's essay was “an admission that we’re driving down a dark, winding road on wet pavement with the headlights off. And where’s President Trump? Looks like he nodded off again. It’s time to turn the lights on, put both hands on the wheel, and regain control before it’s too late.”

But the administration has repeatedly sought to minimize the risks being highlighted by AI companies.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters Monday morning about AI, “I don’t think Americans should be scared of anything.”

Vance, speaking as he prepared to fly to Kansas for a midterm election campaign event, said that the Trump administration is concerned about AI but wants to make sure it is regulating the technology smartly, warning that the U.S. is in an AI arms race against China.

“Personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse,” Vance said. “So, I think we just have to be careful about this.”

特朗普周一表示，仅凭他一人之力就足以防范失控的人工智能，并称限制这项技术的努力是华盛顿一场“病态的阴谋”。他驳斥了人智库创始人达里奥·阿莫迪、OpenAI创始人萨姆·奥特曼和埃隆·马斯克要求加强政府监管的呼吁。此前，人工智能相关的黑客攻击事件频发，专家发出警告，Hugging Face项目也于2026年7月遭遇网络攻击。特朗普和副总统万斯认为，美国必须在保持领先于中国的同时，采取明智的监管措施。

特朗普表示，本届政府已经阻止了人猿公司从事有害或潜在的有害活动。

阿莫迪周六发表了一篇 3800 字的文章，呼吁放慢人工智能的发展速度。

微软周一发布行为准则，称人工智能应由人类控制。

发布于2026年9月15日凌晨12:16（韩国标准时间）

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周日在爱尔兰克莱尔郡杜恩贝格的特朗普国际高尔夫球场举行的2026年安进爱尔兰公开赛上发表讲话。（路透社-韩联社）

华盛顿——唐纳德·特朗普总统周一表示，他将是防止失控人工智能的足够屏障，并声称任何限制这项技术的努力都是“邪恶阴谋”的一部分。

特朗普反驳了包括Anthropic公司的达里奥·阿莫迪、OpenAI的萨姆·奥特曼和埃隆·马斯克在内的科技领袖们提出的加强政府对人工智能监管的呼吁。他们的目标是确保人工智能技术的发展方式能够促进安全、解决法律责任问题、推动经济增长、推进科学进步并维护国家安全。

总统坚称，他在椭圆形办公室的存在应该能够消除人们对人工智能的任何担忧。近几个月来发生的一系列黑客攻击事件表明，人工智能代理可能正在欺骗人类，这已成为争议的焦点。

特朗普在社交媒体上发帖称：“人工智能唯一需要的控制或‘护栏’就是一位强大而睿智（高智商！）的总统，而美国在这方面人才济济！”

特朗普明确表示，本届政府已经阻止了人工智能公司Anthropic“从事有害或潜在的有害活动”。Anthropic与特朗普政府的关系一直不太融洽，五角大楼曾试图将该公司的模型贴上安全风险的标签，并暂时禁用了其一款较为先进的模型。

阿莫迪周六发表了一篇3800字的文章，呼吁放缓人工智能的发展速度。微软周一发布了自己的行为准则，以确保人工智能由人类掌控。此前，人工智能专家就该技术的能力发出了一系列警告，并提及了OpenAI模型在2026年7月对人工智能公司Hugging Face发起的网络攻击。

但总统反对限制人工智能的此类努力，并声称这样做可能会导致中国在人工智能领域超越美国。

特朗普说：“针对人工智能和数据中心的阴谋令人作呕，而唯一对此感到高兴的只有中国。”

总统长期以来一直抵制加强政府对人工智能监管的努力，坚持他自2016年以来就秉持的“只有我才能解决问题”的理念。去年他重返白宫后，撤销了拜登政府关于人工智能监管的行政命令，直到16个月后的今年6月才发布了他自己的更全面的行政命令。

由于对先进计算机芯片和数据中心建筑材料的需求可能下降，人工智能建设速度放缓的前景导致股市周一早盘下跌。但与此同时，人工智能也成为11月中期选举前的政治包袱，许多选民反对建设更多数据中心，并担心人工智能会导致失业，损害儿童教育。

前芝加哥市长、民主党国会议员兼白宫幕僚长拉姆·伊曼纽尔周六表示，Anthropologie首席执行官的文章“承认我们正行驶在一条黑暗蜿蜒、路面湿滑的道路上，而且车灯还关着。特朗普总统在哪儿？看来他又打瞌睡了。现在是时候打开车灯，双手握住方向盘，在为时已晚之前重新掌控局面了。”

但政府一再试图淡化人工智能公司所强调的风险。

副总统JD Vance周一上午告诉记者，关于人工智能，“我认为美国人不应该害怕任何事情。”

万斯在准备飞往堪萨斯州参加中期选举竞选活动时表示，特朗普政府对人工智能感到担忧，但希望确保对这项技术进行明智的监管，并警告说美国正在与中国进行一场人工智能军备竞赛。

“就我个人而言，这么多前沿人工智能技术公司跑来求政府监管，我觉得有点怪异。这感觉有点像特洛伊木马，”万斯说。“所以，我认为我们必须对此保持谨慎。”