Trump Opposes Global AI Regulation in U.N. Speech

Trump Rejects International AI Oversight

President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2026, that the United States will not participate in global efforts to regulate artificial intelligence. Speaking before world leaders, Trump drew an explicit comparison between AI governance and climate policy, claiming both represent overblown concerns.

"The United States ... totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now," Trump stated during the address.

The president framed AI development as a competitive race where regulatory caution would amount to strategic defeat. "I'm not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution," he said, adding that "whoever masters the technology first, wins."

Proposed Terminology Change

Days before the U.N. speech, Trump launched a social media poll asking followers to choose between "Superior Intelligence," "Extreme Intelligence," or "Supreme Intelligence" as a replacement for the term artificial intelligence. In his address, he used "super intelligence" instead, arguing that "artificial" makes the technology "sound fake, and it is not fake, it's actually amazing, but we have to be careful."

Trump wrote on social media that "many people think that the words 'Artificial Intelligence' are inaccurate, and very ineloquent."

Why It Matters

Trump's position places the United States at odds with major AI company leaders who have recently advocated for stronger oversight. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have both called for greater regulation and measured development of AI systems. The president's stance signals that U.S. policy will prioritize rapid AI advancement over international coordination on safety standards, potentially fragmenting the global approach to managing increasingly powerful AI systems.

Climate Policy Comparison

Trump reinforced his rejection of AI regulation by invoking his long-standing position on climate change. He criticized "the very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming" and claimed the planet "was cooling, not warming." The president has consistently characterized climate change as a hoax and has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Agreement twice during his terms.

During his current term, the Trump administration has eliminated major climate programs, rolled back emissions regulations, and reduced funding for climate research.

These details were first reported by Scientific American, with coverage by Adam Kovac.