Trump: Will encourage AI development, Justice Department may act if needed

Source: Cailianshe | September 22 (Editor: Bian Chun)

As debates over artificial intelligence (AI) safety intensify in Silicon Valley and Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump shared his latest views on AI via social media on Monday.

Trump once again downplayed the risks associated with AI, stating that he would only encourage its development. However, he also noted that the U.S. would proceed with caution, and that the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies would manage AI-related risks if necessary.

Trump has consistently touted the AI advancements of American companies as a competitive advantage for the U.S. and expressed a desire to maintain that edge.

"Whoever wins AI, wins!" Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the U.S. currently leads in AI and that he intends to keep it that way.

"I will not stifle the development of AI — its impact will surpass the Industrial Revolution and even the internet itself," Trump wrote.

Regarding potential safety risks posed by AI, Trump said, "We will be prudent, which is why we have the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies — to regulate when necessary. But I will fully encourage the development of AI, or 'superintelligence'!"

Market Reaction

Trump's post further fueled a rally in AI-related stocks. On Monday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a new record high for the first time in nearly four months, rising 2.26% to 27,122.09 points. Market enthusiasm for AI concepts surged again after Meta's personal AI assistant, Muse, replaced ChatGPT as the most popular free app on Apple's iOS platform in the U.S.

Recent Statements and Actions

Over the past two weeks, Trump has repeatedly dismissed warnings about AI risks as a "scam" and stated that the U.S. government already has "enormous criminal and regulatory power" over AI companies. On Saturday, he also announced plans to establish a new agency focused on artificial intelligence and appoint an AI czar.

Industry Warnings and Calls for Regulation

Earlier this month, Anthropic AI researcher Jacob Coxon resigned and warned that current AI development amounts to "a gamble with all of humanity's lives."

Since Coxon's warning, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind CEO and co-founder Demis Hassabis have all called for a slowdown in AI development and increased federal oversight of the AI industry.

Current Regulatory Approach

To date, the White House has largely adopted a lenient stance on AI regulation. In June, Trump signed an executive order establishing a "voluntary regulatory framework" for frontier AI models, encouraging developers to share models with the federal government up to 30 days before public release for cybersecurity assessments.

Divided Opinions in Tech

The debate over AI risks in the U.S. tech sector has now formed two major camps. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg firmly side with Trump, opposing the "AI slowdown" narrative. Huang recently accused leading U.S. AI lab executives of hypocrisy in their calls for regulation, suggesting they are seeking exemptions from existing legal frameworks.