US speaker rejects AI pause, warns of losing edge to China

Trump has dismissed AI fears as ‘hoax’, insisting US safeguards suffice and warning slowdown benefits China.

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson holds a news conference at the Capitol Hill Club on September 15, 2026 in Washington, DC [Heather Diehl/Getty Images/AFP]

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected calls to pause artificial intelligence development, arguing that doing so could give China an advantage over the United States.

“We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for every American family.”

list 1 of 4 Trump dismisses calls for AI slowdown from leading tech CEOs

list 2 of 4 ‘Silent Cold War’: Why calls to slow AI have sparked new US–China frontier

list 3 of 4 Trump says calls for more control on AI are a ‘SICK conspiracy’

list 4 of 4 Trump calls, interrupts Nvidia CEO to say AI fears are ‘a hoax’

Johnson also argued that AI companies should largely be left to police themselves.

“They can self-regulate. They don’t need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should,” he said.

His comments come as calls to rein in AI are growing across the political spectrum amid concerns about what the technology could mean for jobs, energy costs and public safety.

Unlikely allies call for AI limits

Unlikely allies US Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump and prominent voice on the US right, both called for restrictions on AI on Tuesday, as they appeared at the same event in Washington.

Sanders warned of what he called the “growing threat” of AI and said the industry should face binding safety rules.

“AI has the potential to eliminate tens of millions of jobs, wiping out entire professions and making it harder for our young people to enter the workforce,” he said.

He criticised tech executives, including Elon Musk, for concentrating control over the technology.

“As many scientists believe could happen, this technology will escape human control with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Sanders said.

He cited recent research in which scientists used AI to design new viruses, a breakthrough that has raised concerns about potential biosecurity risks, adding that “in the wrong hands, this could lead to new bioweapons and a potential global pandemic that could lead to the deaths of tens of millions of people”.

Sanders also called on Trump to use his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate a treaty to pause AI development.

Bannon called AI “the defining issue of our time” and said the US needed to slow its development to understand the risks, praising Sanders’ description of the risks and arguing the issue needed to transcend partisan politics.

“I don’t think you could find any two harder partisans than Bernie Sanders on the left and Steve Bannon on the right,” he said.

Trump calls AI fears a ‘hoax’

On Monday, Trump downplayed concerns raised by industry leaders about the potential misuse of AI, saying the US already has safeguards in place.

In a series of posts, he dismissed fears that AI could pose an existential threat as a “ hoax ” and argued that existing government powers were enough to keep companies in check.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” Trump wrote, adding: “WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!”

He also accused critics of AI and data centres of engaging in a “sick conspiracy”, arguing that efforts to slow the industry would ultimately benefit China.

Speaker Johnson, who echoed Trump’s concerns about falling behind China on Tuesday, did leave some room for guardrails, saying they would have to be put in place in a balanced and thoughtful way.

“I think you need independent auditors. I think you need transparency from the people who are developing this,” he said.

Johnson also said he spoke to Trump on Monday night and that executives from major AI companies would be summoned to the White House for a meeting within the next week.

特朗普驳斥了人工智能的担忧，称其为“骗局”，坚称美国的保障措施足够，并警告称经济放缓对中国有利。

2026年9月15日，美国众议院议长迈克·约翰逊在华盛顿特区国会山俱乐部举行新闻发布会。[Heather Diehl/Getty Images/AFP]

美国众议院议长迈克·约翰逊拒绝了暂停人工智能发展的呼吁，他认为这样做可能会让中国在与美国的竞争中占据优势。

约翰逊周二对记者表示：“我们不能暂停人工智能的发展。因为那样我们会失去对中国的优势，这对每个美国家庭的国家安全都具有严重影响。”

列表 1/4：特朗普驳斥科技巨头CEO们要求放缓人工智能发展的呼吁

列表 2/4 “无声的冷战”：为何呼吁减缓人工智能发展速度引发了美中关系的新前沿

特朗普称，要求加强对人工智能控制的呼声是“令人作呕的阴谋”（共4条，此为第3条）。

特朗普致电英伟达CEO，打断其讲话，称人工智能恐慌是“骗局”的第四起事件

约翰逊还认为，人工智能公司应该在很大程度上进行自我监管。

他说：“他们可以自我约束，不需要政府告诉他们放慢速度。如果他们想放慢速度，就应该自己放慢。”

在他发表这番言论之际，各政治派别要求限制人工智能发展的呼声日益高涨，人们担心这项技术可能对就业、能源成本和公共安全造成的影响。

意想不到的盟友呼吁限制人工智能。

自称民主社会主义者的美国参议员伯尼·桑德斯和唐纳德·特朗普总统的前顾问、美国右翼的知名人物史蒂夫·班农，这对不太可能结盟的两人，周二在华盛顿的同一活动中都呼吁限制人工智能。

桑德斯警告说，人工智能正构成他所谓的“日益增长的威胁”，并表示该行业应该面临具有约束力的安全规则。

他说：“人工智能有可能消除数千万个工作岗位，摧毁整个行业，并使我们的年轻人更难进入劳动力市场。”

他批评包括埃隆·马斯克在内的科技公司高管将技术控制权集中在少数人手中。

桑德斯说：“许多科学家认为，这项技术可能会失控，造成灾难性后果，而这种情况很有可能发生。”

他引用了科学家利用人工智能设计新病毒的最新研究，这一突破引发了人们对潜在生物安全风险的担忧，并补充说，“如果落入坏人手中，这可能会导致新的生物武器和潜在的全球性大流行病，造成数千万人死亡”。

桑德斯还呼吁特朗普利用即将与中国国家主席习近平的会晤，谈判达成一项暂停人工智能发展的条约。

班农称人工智能是“我们这个时代的决定性问题”，并表示美国需要放慢人工智能的发展速度以了解其风险，他赞扬了桑德斯对风险的描述，并认为这个问题需要超越党派政治。

他说：“我认为你很难找到比左翼的伯尼·桑德斯和右翼的史蒂夫·班农更顽固的党派人士了。”

特朗普称对人工智能的担忧是“骗局”

周一，特朗​​普淡化了行业领袖们对人工智能可能被滥用的担忧，称美国已经采取了保障措施。

在一系列帖子中，他驳斥了人工智能可能构成生存威胁的担忧，称其为“骗局”，并辩称现有的政府权力足以约束企业。

特朗普写道：“人工智能唯一需要的控制或‘护栏’就是一位强大而聪明（高智商！）的总统。”他还补充道：“谁赢得了人工智能，谁就赢了！”

他还指责人工智能和数据中心的批评者参与了一场“病态的阴谋”，认为减缓该行业发展的努力最终将使中国受益。

约翰逊议长周二也表达了与特朗普类似的担忧，即美国可能会落后于中国。不过，他也为设置一些保障措施留出了空间，称这些措施必须以平衡和深思熟虑的方式制定。

“我认为需要独立审计人员。我认为开发这个项目的人员需要保持透明，”他说。

约翰逊还表示，他周一晚上与特朗普通了电话，各大人工智能公司的管理人员将在下周被召集到白宫开会。