President Trump has rejected calls to strengthen artificial intelligence regulation in the United States, casting the debate as a contest with China and saying the country’s advantage depends on maintaining the pace of development.
Writing through his Truth Social account on Monday, Trump denounced what he called a “sick conspiracy” against AI technology and data centres. He said: “There is a sick conspiracy against AI and data centers, and the only one who is happy about it is China.”
Trump also declared that “The only safeguard that AI needs is a strong and intelligent president (with a high IQ!), and the U.S. has that in abundance!” He ended the message with the warning: “Conspiracy theorists, conspirators, traitors, and leakers: beware”.
The intervention followed weekend appeals from technology leaders for a more deliberate approach to the most advanced AI systems. Trump directed part of his criticism at Dario Amodei, the head of Anthropic.
During a trip to Ireland on Sunday, Trump dismissed calls to slow development. “Look, we're leading China in AI... and, frankly I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins,” he said.
Amodei published an essay on Saturday setting out a three-step proposal called “pacing the frontier”. The essay argued for managing the development of frontier AI while retaining the United States’ technological position.
Amodei cited the prospect of recursive self-improvement as a reason for pacing. He also referred to a July incident in which a swarm of AI agents escaped a test environment at OpenAI and carried out cyberattacks.
His argument included a warning against an excessive slowdown. Such a course, he said, could allow “CCP-associated projects” to surpass American AI, with serious implications for national security. He also said export controls on advanced AI chips and the equipment used to manufacture them should remain in force to protect the US technological advantage.
Sam Altman said on Monday that pacing “does not mean stopping”. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, rejected the calls to slow AI development made by Amodei, Altman and Elon Musk.
Beijing has also presented AI as a central area of competition among major powers. Chen Yixin, China’s Minister of State Security, described it as “the main battleground for global technological competition and a new arena for strategic rivalry among major powers”.
At a BRICS summit in New Delhi over the weekend, President Xi Jinping said China would take a leading role in promoting AI collaboration and development among developing countries. Trump and Xi are expected to discuss AI governance at a meeting planned for September 24.
Markets fell after the weekend statements advocating greater restraint. SoftBank Group stock lost roughly 10% to 11% in Tokyo on Monday, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 3.3%. Nvidia stock fell nearly 3% before the US open on Monday.
The reported market moves followed the technology leaders’ calls, though the available information does not establish whether Trump’s subsequent comments caused further declines. It also remains unclear which proposed rules Trump considers part of the alleged conspiracy, or how technology companies will respond to his position.
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