Trump and Johnson dismiss calls to slow AI development, citing fears of China
After Anthropic's CEO called for pacing AI development, President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson said the industry is overreacting, warning that slowing down could let China take the lead.
A rift has emerged over how fast AI development should proceed. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently published an open letter urging the industry to "pace the frontier" and slow AI development. His call was publicly backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who voiced support on X. Alphabet's Demis Hassabis also offered tentative support for the proposal.
However, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson believe AI executives are being overly reactive. They fear that pausing development could allow China to overtake the US in the AI race. According to the Financial Times, Trump said the US is currently leading China in AI and that he wants to keep it that way, adding that whoever wins the AI race wins overall.
Warning against rushed regulation
Johnson echoed similar concerns on CNN, telling Jake Tapper that rushing to impose restrictions on AI development could pose a national security threat. He urged people not to panic, warning that if Congress rushed into an emergency session to regulate AI, the US would lose the race to China.
The disagreement highlights a growing divide between some AI industry leaders calling for caution and policymakers prioritizing technological dominance over China.
