Donald Trump has aggressively pushed back on calls to regulate AI development in the US, claiming there is a "sick conspiracy" against the technology.
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Trump → push → technology
Pressure is building in Washington for urgent action to rein in AI's rapid development after a flurry of dire warnings from industry leaders.
But the US president has used social media to say the only protection necessary is a "high IQ" president.
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protection → build → media
He suggested regulating AI would only help China get ahead of the US, and he criticised Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI giant Anthropic who published an essay about AI's dangers over the weekend.
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who → suggest → weekend
"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.
"
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he → need → spades
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!
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we → stop → Dario
"We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!
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We → have → companies
There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China."
In a second post an hour later, Mr Trump said: "The only reason the AI/Data Center outburst is happening is because the United States is leading, by a lot, every other country.
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States → be → country
On Saturday, Mr Amodei published an essay outlining a three-step plan to safely "pace" AI development while systems are developed to manage its risk.
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systems → publish → risk
It was quickly endorsed by his rivals, xAI's Elon Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman.
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It → endorse → rivals
It followed AI researcher Jacob Coxon's decision last week to quit his job with Anthropic and issue a sensational public warning that AI could lead to human extinction.
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AI → follow → extinction
Emerging election issue
Mr Trump did not elaborate on his "conspiracy" claim or specify what "bad things" his administration had prevented Mr Amodei from doing.
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administration → elaborate → Amodei
But the US Government and Anthropic clashed earlier this year after the company asked for guarantees that the defence department would not use Anthropic's AI for fully autonomous weapons or for mass domestic surveillance.
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department → clash → surveillance
Mr Trump subsequently said he was ordering federal agencies to stop working with Anthropic, and the Pentagon declared it a supply-chain risk.
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it → say → Anthropic
AI is emerging as a major election issue ahead of the US's midterms in November, when voters will determine which party controls Congress for the second half of Mr Trump's presidency.
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party → emerge → presidency
Polls show growing concerns over the construction of data centres in American communities as well as a range of risks posed by the technology.
But both major parties lack coherent policy platforms on the issue.
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parties → show → issue
In some local midterms races, each party is attempting to portray the other as the pro-AI option.
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party → attempt → option
An AI safety bill, backed by Republican Senate Leader John Thune and Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar, has some bipartisan support but its details are still being negotiated.
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details → back → support
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has become one of Congress's most vocal agitators for AI regulation.
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who → caucus → regulation
He and Democratic congressman Greg Casar have proposed tougher legislation that would ban AI systems that surpass human intelligence, and pause advanced AI development until a regulatory body is set up.
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body → propose → development
Meaningful action in Congress before the midterms appears unlikely.
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action → appear → midterms
The House of Representatives is scheduled to break at the end of this week, and will not resume until after the November elections.
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House → schedule → elections
The Senate is due to break two weeks later.
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Senate → break → ?
The Aporia
