Trump, Johnson Reject AI Slowdown Despite Industry Warnings

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are resisting calls to slow artificial intelligence development, even as leading AI company executives warn the technology poses serious risks to humanity.

Speaking Sunday at his golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, Trump framed AI as a competitive race with China that the United States must win. "We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins," Trump told reporters. He dismissed safety concerns as coming from "negative forces" raising alarms about scenarios "that won't happen."

Johnson, appearing on multiple Sunday news programs, said Congress should not impose emergency regulations on AI development. "The guys that are calling for this are the ones that are pushing the frontier. If they want to slow that down, that's fine," Johnson said on CNN's "State of the Union." "But we also, at the same time, have to resist Congress jumping in and imposing some sort of emergency moratorium."

Industry leaders sound alarm

The remarks from Trump and Johnson came one day after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly called for slowing AI development, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressing agreement. Last week, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from the company, warning on social media that AI could become "superhuman systems" potentially causing human extinction by 2030.

Johnson acknowledged the national security tension, saying that if the U.S. slows development, "China will overlap us." He advocated for a summit bringing together lawmakers and tech platform providers but emphasized discussions should not be "haphazard or rushed."

Last week, Johnson reportedly declined a request from House Democrats for an emergency session to pass AI safeguards. On Sunday, he said lawmakers "would vote on that tomorrow if we had the solution."

Why it matters

The divide between AI industry leaders calling for caution and political leaders prioritizing competitive advantage highlights a fundamental tension in technology governance. With researchers at leading AI labs warning of existential risks within the decade, the decision to defer regulatory action in favor of maintaining technological supremacy over China represents a calculated bet that innovation speed outweighs safety concerns. This approach puts the U.S. on a path where private companies, rather than elected officials, effectively set the boundaries for one of the most consequential technologies in human history.

Democrats push for action

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday on ABC that lawmakers need to "take decisive action now" to slow development and protect the American people. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called congressional inaction "deeply dangerous," noting that even AI leaders acknowledge the threat to humanity.

Former President Barack Obama also recently urged Democrats to prioritize AI policy during a closed-door New York fundraising event, according to The New York Times. Obama specifically encouraged Jeffries to establish "a clear framework for a public conversation about A.I. policy."

These details were first reported by AI Watch.