World Prepares for Great Catastrophe, Yet President Says This
US President Donald Trump has launched sharp criticism against those calling for a slowdown in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He referred to these critics as “negative forces” who are deliberately spreading fictitious scenarios and fear.
Trump made these remarks while responding to journalists at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, regarding whether the AI industry needs to be slowed down or subjected to stricter regulation. “We are leading China in terms of AI. We are the most advanced nation in the world, and frankly, I want to maintain that because whoever wins AI is the winner,” Trump asserted, as reported by Reuters.
While allowing for the possibility of implementing certain guardrails, Trump believes the debate regarding AI threats is driven by parties prone to spreading excessive fear. The issue of AI safety has been intensifying in the US following warnings from two Anthropic researchers that this cutting-edge technology has the potential to trigger a great catastrophe, namely the future extinction of humanity.
Resistance to AI data centre infrastructure is also occurring in many US states, with many communities affected by AI innovation calling for a halt to data centre construction. In contrast to these concerns, Trump’s second administration appears to embrace AI industry giants. This symbiotic relationship is evident in the massive flow of funds provided by tech executives to support Republican Party campaigns ahead of the mid-term Congressional elections on 3 November.
One such channel is America PAC, a super PAC owned by SpaceX boss Elon Musk, which is liberally supporting Republican candidates to garner votes. Nevertheless, internal friction within the industry persists. The Pentagon previously issued an early warning regarding Anthropic’s AI models, leading several tech leaders to urge an emergency brake on the pace of innovation.
Anthropic’s Three-Stage Framework
Last weekend, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei revealed a three-stage framework to slow the development of frontier AI models to mitigate risks. This proposal received immediate endorsement from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
However, Amodeim admitted that the greatest obstacle to his proposal is the fierce competition between the US and China. In an interview with CBS News, he described this clash of geopolitical interests as the “most difficult dilemma.”
“The incentive to excel and the military advantage gained from AI are immense, so the ability to verify whether an opponent is cheating must be absolute,” said Amodei. “That is a task of many years, and frankly, I do not know if it is possible to achieve.”
On the other hand, Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic researcher who resigned after sounding the AI danger alarm, urged Washington not to act alone. He believes global coordination is absolutely necessary to ensure that the competition with China does not turn into a deadly boomerang.
“We need international coordination; otherwise, we will simply repeat the same arms race with China, and that is equally dangerous,” concluded Coxon.