Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting
The Verge
β’2026-09-13T15:41:48-04:00
π° What Happened
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei wrote an open letter saying it was time to 'pace the frontier' and slow down AI development. Other tech leaders backed him.
OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk both voiced support on X. Alphabet's Demis Hassabis gave cautious support too. Then politics stepped in.
Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson said the AI bosses were overreacting. They worry that slowing down would let China move ahead in the race for AI.
π The Backstory
Trump told the Financial Times that the US leads China in AI and he wants to keep it that way, 'because whoever wins AI, wins'. Mike Johnson made the same point on CNN.
Johnson told Jake Tapper that an emergency push to regulate AI could be a 'national security threat'. He said if Congress races in to regulate, 'we will lose the race to China'.
The split is unusual. Normally tech bosses ask for light rules and politicians push for more. Here the industry asked to slow down and the politicians said no.
π― Why It Matters
The rules written now will shape what AI can do, how safe it is and who controls it. The US and China both see AI as a race they must win.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei wrote an open letter saying it was time to 'pace the frontier' and slow down AI development. Other tech leaders backed him.
OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk both voiced support on X. Alphabet's Demis Hassabis gave cautious support too. Then politics stepped in.
Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson said the AI bosses were overreacting. They worry that slowing down would let China move ahead in the race for AI.
Trump told the Financial Times that the US leads China in AI and he wants to keep it that way, 'because whoever wins AI, wins'. Mike Johnson made the same point on CNN.
Johnson told Jake Tapper that an emergency push to regulate AI could be a 'national security threat'. He said if Congress races in to regulate, 'we will lose the race to China'.
The split is unusual. Normally tech bosses ask for light rules and politicians push for more. Here the industry asked to slow down and the politicians said no.
The rules written now will shape what AI can do, how safe it is and who controls it. The US and China both see AI as a race they must win.