Trump Says US Must Maintain AI Lead Over China Despite Safety Concerns

President Donald Trump has played down calls for a slowdown in artificial intelligence development, saying the United States must maintain its advantage over China in the global AI race while acknowledging that some safeguards may be necessary.

Speaking to reporters during a weekend trip to Ireland, Trump said the country that wins the AI competition would gain a major strategic advantage. He did not provide details of what regulation his administration might support, while dismissing some warnings about the rapid development of the technology as concerns raised by what he called “negative forces.”

“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,” Trump said. “But whoever wins with AI wins.”

Trump later rejected the suggestion that he was minimizing AI risks, saying the technology would ultimately be “more good than bad, but by a lot.”

His comments came a day after Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI company Anthropic, called for the industry to slow development so that safety measures can keep pace. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and technology entrepreneur Elon Musk have also expressed support for greater caution.

Trump said the United States is currently ahead of China in AI and that he wanted to preserve that position. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the White House later this month, with AI likely to be among the subjects discussed.

The debate has intensified in the United States as technology companies build large data centres and computing facilities across the country. Communities have raised concerns about electricity demand, water consumption and the use of farmland, making AI infrastructure an increasingly prominent political issue.

Former President Barack Obama has urged Democrats to make AI a campaign issue, calling for plans to address safety, children’s exposure to the technology and potential job losses caused by automation.

Within the Trump administration, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said officials responsible for cyber, science and technology policy were expected to meet this week to discuss possible next steps. Trump may also meet with members of Congress who have raised concerns about the pace of AI development.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the technology needs “some guardrails, some safety measures” but warned that excessive restrictions could cause the US to lose ground to China. He called for technology leaders to meet with policymakers to discuss a coordinated approach.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called for immediate action and said Congress should consider slowing development to protect the public.

Former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon has also urged international cooperation between Washington and Beijing. He warned that increasingly capable AI systems could eventually become difficult for humans to control and argued that the US and China should cooperate on safety measures.

Meanwhile, White House adviser David Sacks challenged technology executives calling for regulation, arguing that companies themselves have the ability to slow development.

“The easiest way not to build superintelligence is for you to agree not to build it,” Sacks wrote on social media.