Trump dismisses AI guardrails, calling concerns a 'conspiracy' - USA Today

Trump dismisses AI guardrails, calling concerns a 'conspiracy'

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump dismissed the push for new guardrails to protect Americans from the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and warned of "a SICK conspiracy" that is turning people against AI and data centers in the United States.

Trump made the comments in a Sept. 14 post on Truth Social as he lashed out against Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who over the weekend published an essay that raised concerns about the pace of AI development and called for new 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!" Trump said. "The Trump Administration has stopped AI 'people' from doing bad, or potentially bad, 'things,' like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a 'perfect little angel' - and we will continue to do so!"

Two other AI leaders, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk, endorsed Amodei's suggestions in social media posts.

Trump has been a firm defender of AI and data centers that power AI amid rising opposition to the expansion of the sprawling facilities in communities across the country. Trump has argued AI development in the United States is critical to maintain a competitive edge against China.

Trump in June signed an executive order establishing a framework for AI models to be reviewed by the government before they are released to the public, but the review process is voluntary, not mandatory.

"We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!" Trump said. "There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!"

Vice President JD Vance, speaking to reporters on Sept. 14, expressed skepticism about growing concerns raised by AI leaders.

"I have to say, just personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them," Vance said. "It just feels a little bit to me like a little bit of a Trojan Horse."

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.