Trump plays down AI concerns, calls it a conspiracy against the technology

Open this photo in gallery:Trump pushed back against calls by tech leaders and others to have greater government oversight of AI.Mark Humphrey/The Associated PressPresident 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.New AI warnings revive concerns over whether technology could escape human control and threaten humanityTrump 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.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.