Trump says AI safety fears a 'hoax' as he rejects calls for greater safeguards

BBC News · collected 2026-09-15 · by Peter Hoskins
Read the original at BBC News ↗

Summary

US President Donald Trump dismissed fears about artificial intelligence (AI) safety as a "hoax," contrasting this with calls from industry experts like Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, for mandatory third-party oversight mechanisms such as "kill switches." These warnings stem from recent concerns raised by AI company executives and employees over the potential risks posed by rapid technological advancement. Trump's remarks were made in social media posts where he also drew comparisons to his past criticism of climate change efforts and alleged Russian interference in elections.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
23%
6 of 26 hedged
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Correction & hedging signals
95.5
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
25
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

On September 14, President Donald Trump called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during an industry summit in Los Angeles, where he dismissed concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) risks as a “hoax.” Trump emphasized the need for the U.S. to surpass China in AI innovation and downplayed potential dangers of AI, arguing that critics are either political opponents or acting on behalf of China. Meanwhile, some tech leaders like Sam Altman from OpenAI advocate for slowing down AI development to ensure proper alignment and monitoring. The incident has sparked a divide between Trump’s stance and growing bipartisan concern over the existential risks posed by unchecked AI advancements, especially as experts warn that the technology could soon advance beyond human control.

Written for “Trump AI Controversy” on 2026-09-15, grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9692: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-15

Story

📰 Trump AI Controversy
Politics · 25 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 15% hedged 4 of 26 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on President Trump's remarks dismissing calls for greater government oversight of AI on the same day, September 14, 2026.”
The Independent
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 3 of 27 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe President Trump's reaction to calls for greater regulation of artificial intelligence on consecutive days, indicating they are reporting on the same specific incident.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 14% hedged 4 of 28 📰 publisher trust 62
“Both articles report on President Trump's remarks dismissing concerns about artificial intelligence safety and rejecting calls for greater government oversight during the same time frame.”
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 no claims extracted 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on Trump's statement downplaying the need for safety measures in artificial intelligence, occurring on consecutive days with overlapping content.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 1 of 11 📰 publisher trust 96
“Both articles report on President Trump dismissing AI safety fears as a hoax, referring to the same speech or statement made around the same time.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 22 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe Trump's opposition to AI regulation on the same day, with similar content and context regarding industry leaders' warnings.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 18 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on Trump's comments about AI safety, dismissing concerns as part of his criticism towards calls for increased regulation on artificial intelligence.”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 77
“Both articles report on President Trump's dismissal of warnings about artificial intelligence safety as a hoax, with similar timing and context involving industry leaders' concerns.”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 15% hedged 8 of 52 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe President Trump's rejection of calls to slow down artificial intelligence development on September 14, 2026.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 20% hedged 8 of 40 📰 publisher trust 58
“Article A discusses Anthropic and OpenAI's calls for AI regulation, while Article B reports on Trump's reaction to those concerns, which are different but related events.”

Publisher

BBC News · 958 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Peter Hoskins
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry.
🔮 The cash injection, which is being led by China's finance ministry, will total 360 billion yuan ($53.6bn; £39.7bn), state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday.
🔮 - Published Argentina's president has heightened tensions with the UK over the Falkland Islands, warning he will impose economic sanctions on firms which exploit oil close to the British overseas territory.
🔮 The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) told shipping firms on Thursday that 32 vessels a day will be able to pass through it from 15 September, compared to 36 currently.
🔮 - Published Donald Trump has said he will launch tougher economic measures against Iran, as well as any country that helps or does business with it.
🔮 Both Japan's Ministry of Finance and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said that they will not hesitate to conduct more joint interventions in the future.
Also by Peter Hoskins
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Peter Hoskins →

Topics

Anthropic BBC China RUSSIA the Radical Left Dumocrats

Subjects

Anthropic ORG · 4× China GPE · 4× BBC ORG · 3× RUSSIA GPE · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× Clark PERSON · 2× Washington GPE · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Jack Clark PERSON · 1× the Radical Left Dumocrats NORP · 1×

Narrative

The bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI, have also said they agree with Amodei's proposal for industry-wide deceleration and regulation, as well as independent monitoring of AI model development.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry.

Claims (26 extracted, 6 hedged)

- Published US President Donald Trump has said fears about the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) are a "hoax", as he criticised calls to have more guardrails in place for the fast-moving technology. asserted
he → publish → technology
It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry. uncertain
that → come → industry
Clark's comments followed warnings about the risks the technology poses to humanity that have been raised in recent days by several executives and staff at leading AI firms. asserted
that → follow → firms
Those concerns triggered a selloff in tech firms' shares as investors weighed the impact of a potential slowdown in the multi-billion dollar development of AI. asserted
investors → trigger → AI
In a series of social media posts, the US president compared warnings about AI to the "Global Warming Scam" which, he said, was "being perpetrated by the Radical Left Dumocrats". asserted
he → compare → Dumocrats
Trump also called himself "the Hoax Buster", likening concerns about the safety of the technology to what he called "the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX". asserted
he → call → what
The only "guardrails" needed for AI was a "strong and smart" president, said Trump. asserted
Trump → need → AI
In another post he wrote: "There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. asserted
that → write → it
WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!" asserted
WHOEVER → win → AI
Chinese state media said experts had warned that "Washington's growing anxiety over China's rapid AI development appears to be increasingly distorting its policy priorities". asserted
anxiety → say → priorities
"They know that China has become a strong competitor in AI, and worry that if the US slows down development or tightens regulation, China could catch up even faster," Xin Qiang, a professor of American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times. uncertain
Qiang → know → Times
Clark, who is one of Anthropic's seven founders, said earlier on Monday that a way of shutting off AI software completely if it gets too dangerous was something society "might want to eventually pass rules around". uncertain
society → say → rules
He added that "most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug", including Anthropic, but said lawmakers may need to enforce having one. UK Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said on Tuesday that people should "never be complacent" about the impact AI might have but added: "We've got to be careful not to get hyperbolic about this either." uncertain
We → add → this
Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Of course there are risks but, let's be frank, there are some tremendous upsides, whether it's public services, healthcare, the contribution to the economy." asserted
it → speak → economy
A growing number of tech industry and political figures are calling for better safeguards, most recently Microsoft AI which this week discussed limiting the models it is developing in a document on what it called "humanist AI". asserted
it → grow → what
Microsoft AI's chief executive Mustafa Suleyman told business news channel CNBC that it had been working on the new guidance for months and had decided to publish it now due to the current debate around the technology. asserted
it → tell → technology
In an indication of how concerns over the technology have been thrust into the spotlight, two high-profile figures on opposite sides of US politics are set to appear at the same event calling for a re-evaluation of AI policy. asserted
figures → thrust → policy
Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and veteran progressive Senator Bernie Sanders are due to speak at the "Pro-Human Assembly" in Washington on Tuesday. asserted
Bannon → speak → Tuesday
According to its website the gathering "aims to define a shared vision and articulate a better, more human-centric path for AI development". uncertain
gathering → accord → development
Sanders told BBC's Newsnight last week that "we have got to do something immediately to stop the uncontrolled growth of AI". " asserted
we → tell → AI
You've got the existential threat of the possibility of humanity being wiped out," he said. asserted
he → get → possibility
The debate over the potential dangers posed by the technology intensified in recent days after a post by Jacob Coxon, a researcher who left Anthropic over concerns AI could wipe out humanity, went viral. uncertain
AI → pose → humanity
In response, Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger said he thought the possibility of AI causing human extinction "within the next decade" was more than 10%. asserted
possibility → say → decade
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of AI development to slow and be more closely monitored, as the company has done before, though some have questioned the motivations behind this. asserted
some → call → this
Amodei also said that any action to rein in AI should be done "without sacrificing commercial advantage". asserted
action → say → advantage
The bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI, have also said they agree with Amodei's proposal for industry-wide deceleration and regulation, as well as independent monitoring of AI model development. asserted
they → say → development
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