President Donald Trump rejected growing calls for tighter controls on artificial intelligence Monday, putting himself at odds with several technology executives who have recently urged a more cautious approach to developing increasingly powerful AI systems.
Trump made his position clear through several social media posts. He dismissed predictions that advanced AI could eventually escape human control and cause widespread harm, while arguing that slowing American development would give China an advantage. He referred to the warnings as a “HOAX” and said there was a conspiracy forming against AI and the data centers needed to support it.
The disagreement comes after some of the people running major AI companies began publicly calling for more time to address safety concerns. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed reducing the speed at which companies increase the abilities of their most advanced systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk also backed the general idea of slowing development enough to put additional protections in place.
Altman has made clear that he is not calling for AI development to stop. His position is that companies can continue improving their systems while allowing safety testing, monitoring and other protections more time to catch up. He has also supported consistent federal requirements for companies developing advanced AI.
Trump does not see additional restrictions as the answer. He said the federal government already has legal and regulatory authority that can be used against AI companies when necessary. He also questioned why executives running the industry would seek rules that could restrict their own businesses. For Trump, competition with China is also part of the issue. He warned against damaging what he called the “Golden Goose.”
Vice President JD Vance also expressed doubts about the industry’s request for regulation, though he acknowledged that AI comes with risks as well as benefits. Vance said the government needs to approach any new rules carefully. He described the push by large AI companies for federal involvement as potentially being a “Trojan horse,” questioning what those companies might gain from new restrictions.
Concerns from inside the industry have become more public in recent days. Jacob Coxon, a former safety researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI, resigned from Anthropic and warned that developers are moving too quickly toward much more capable systems. Other researchers have also raised concerns about what could happen if AI reaches the point where it can improve its own abilities faster than people can monitor it.
The issue is now drawing more attention in Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that Trump is expected to meet with AI executives soon. According to Johnson, those discussions would examine the safety responsibilities of AI companies and whether the federal government should have a role in setting additional rules.
Democratic lawmakers have also been pushing Congress to respond more quickly to the technology. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called for action as developers continue building more capable systems.
Trump has continued to argue that American leadership in AI should not be slowed by fears about where the technology could eventually lead. He also recently confirmed that he uses AI himself, though he did not identify the systems he uses or explain what he uses them for.
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