Tech CEOs Urge Regulation to Counter AI Threats, Trump Rejects!
Leaders of artificial intelligence (AI) companies are calling for stricter oversight regarding the development of the technology. However, the United States government under President Donald Trump and Congress have yet to show swift action in responding to these calls.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Elon Musk of xAI have expressed concerns regarding the overly rapid pace of AI development. However, on Monday (14/9), Trump referred to concerns regarding AI and the construction of data centres as part of a ‘sick conspiracy’. This difference in stance demonstrates a gap between the concerns of tech industry leaders and the political response in Washington.
Amodelet requested that AI companies slow down their technological development. In an essay shared on Saturday (12/9), he warned that within six to 12 months, AI agents ‘could potentially take over the entire internet and potentially cause losses of up to hundreds of billions of dollars’.
Altman agreed with Amodei. He also assessed the risk of human extinction due to AI as something that is ‘unacceptable’.
AI Threats to Humanity
Concerns regarding the misuse of AI have increased after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned, stating that AI companies are ‘gambling with our lives’. A few days later, Anthrmropic released a threat intelligence report stating that its Claude model has been used in activities ranging from weapons development and cyber operations to surveillance and fraud.
However, some investors believe these warnings are exaggerated. Michael Burry, an investor known for betting against the US housing market before the 2008 financial crisis, described the warnings from Anthropic and OpenAI as ‘hype and nonsense’.
In Washington, concerns regarding the government’s ability to respond to AI developments also emerged from Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service.
‘The signals we are receiving from political leaders do not show an understanding of the crisis that, I believe, we are indeed facing,’ said Stoller. ‘Delay will prove to be very expensive.’
Trump and Congress Differ in Stance
A number of US House members, known as Congress, have begun pushing for regulation, though there are no signs that such legislation will be passed immediately. Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated on Saturday (12/9) that he had spoken with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar regarding the ‘way forward’ for AI legislation.
‘You do not want to hinder innovation, but I think you also want to ensure that more advanced threats can be mitigated and that there is the capability and the place to do so,’ said Thune.
Republican Senator John Kennedy stated he would propose a rule called a ‘kill switch’ that would require developers to have the ability to shut down AI systems if necessary.
Senator Josh Hawley also stated that public protection must be part of AI policy. ‘We need to protect workers. We need to protect children online. We need to protect those threatened by data centres,’ said Hawley.
‘We must also ensure that these frontier models do not blow up the internet and the world,’ he continued.
However, Congress’s time to act is increasingly limited ahead of the November elections. US House Speaker Mike Johnson has also shown no urgency in immediately drafting legislation. He called for Trump to invite AI company leaders to discuss the issue. ‘The reflex of the legislative institution is to close various things with excessive bureaucracy and regulation,’ said Johnson.
Meanwhile, Trump appears to be an obstacle to the possibility of stricter regulation. Industry leaders who previously called for oversight must face the president’s stance rejecting those concerns.
Senator Mark Warner, a Democratic politician from Virginia and former tech executive, said Congress has a track record of being slow to respond to major issues.
’We never do anything until we experience an