Trump doubles down on AI approach

Trump defends AI approach amid mounting scrutiny

President Trump defended his approach to AI on Monday, saying the only protections needed are a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT” amid calls for AI guardrails.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” he wrote on Truth Social. “The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things.’” “We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!” he continued. “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.”

“Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!” he wrote.

He specifically named Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as an example of someone who has done “bad,” but he said he is “now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel.’”

Following an ominous warning about the future of AI from a former Anthropic researcher, Amodei called to slow down the pace of AI development to implement safeguards in models.

The president has repeatedly downplayed calls for an AI slowdown and more guardrails from industry leaders and those across the political aisle. “We can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that … shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.

The Hill’s Mallory Wilson has more in a full report.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter , we’re Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

AI leaders call for development slowdown

A growing chorus of artificial intelligence leaders are calling for a slowdown of the technology’s development following a researcher’s ominous warning that AI could soon destroy humanity. Shortly after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called to slow down AI capability development, several of his competitors, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk, followed suit.

Sanders, Bannon to speak at event calling for AI controls

Political figures across the aisle, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, are finding themselves on the same side of a growing fight over AI regulations. Sanders and Bannon are among a handful of political leaders speaking at a Tuesday event advocating controls to keep humans in charge of AI. The Pro-Human Assembly, hosted by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute in Washington, …

Trump weighs in on Flock debate: ‘I like them’

President Trump on Sunday backed the use of Flock cameras, a controversial surveillance tool. “Speaking of AI, Flock cameras. You haven’t talked a lot about these Flock cameras. A lot of law enforcement say they really help them. Would you be willing to back that?” a reporter asked Trump on Air Force One. “No, I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement. But some people don’t. They think it’s …

Thune: Legislation to regulate AI needs to have a ‘light touch’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Monday said any legislation Congress passes to regulate AI must have a “light touch” so as not to stifle innovation and tempered recent warnings that superintelligent AI could exterminate humanity as a “worst-case scenario.” “It needs to strike a balance, light touch. You don’t want to stifle innovation but you also want to make sure that the more advanced threats can be mitigated,” …

News we’ve flagged from t he intersection of tech and other topics:

China says AI CEOs’ call for slowdown is ‘fear mongering’ ( CNBC )

Global AI stocks fall as industry chiefs call for slowing development ( Reuters )

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

Schumer calls for classified briefing on danger posed by AI

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Monday called on the Trump administration to provide a classified briefing to all senators on the dangers posed by AI after a researcher for Anthropic warned that companies chasing artificial superintelligence are “gambling with our lives.”

“The American people deserve better from their government at such a consequential moment. I have long argued that we must keep the U.S. as the global leader in AI innovation and security,” Schumer said in a statement.

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