【Financial News New York = Correspondent Lee Byeong-cheol】 The debate surrounding the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development is rapidly spreading from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C. politics. As CEOs of AI companies have successively raised concerns that AI could spiral out of human control, this issue is emerging as a key point of contention in the November midterm elections. Regarding this debate, U.S. President Donald Trump effectively opposed calls to slow the pace on the 13th (local time), stating, "Whoever wins AI wins." President Donald Trump met with reporters at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, that day and, when asked whether the AI industry should slow development or strengthen regulations, said, "We are ahead of China in AI," adding, "We are the most sophisticated nation in the world, and frankly, I want to keep that." He then emphasized, "Whoever wins AI wins." While saying that certain safeguards could be put in place, President Trump described voices warning of AI's extreme dangers as "very negative forces," saying they were raising issues that would not actually occur. President Trump's remarks came as the debate over the pace of AI development rapidly spread beyond the technology industry into a political issue in the United States. In particular, they were interpreted as a clear statement of the "AI security argument": that if the United States independently slows the pace of AI development, China could overtake it. The AI issue may also be a major agenda item at the meeting scheduled for the end of this month between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Sanders says "Stop"... Calls for regulation even within the Republican Party The person who ignited the controversy was Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. In a lengthy post released on the 12th, Amodei argued that, rather than halting AI development, the pace at which the capabilities of cutting-edge AI improve should be slowed to secure time for safety and control technologies to catch up. Leaders of rival companies, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, also successively expressed agreement. Amodei, however, identified U.S.-China AI competition as the biggest obstacle. If only the United States slows down, China could gain military and economic superiority, he argued, making international coordination to slow the pace and a verification system to confirm compliance necessary. The debate over the pace of AI development, which began in Silicon Valley, has now spread to Washington, D.C. as a political issue. Notably, calls for regulation are not coming exclusively from either the progressive or conservative camp. The strongest voice is that of Senator Bernie Sanders. Saying that it does not matter whether the probability of AI destroying humanity is 10% or 2%, he called for an immediate halt to the development of superintelligent AI, saying, "Stop it right now." On the 16th, he will invite figures including Geoffrey Hinton, the "godfather of AI," and Max Tegmark, co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, to hold a bipartisan briefing on AI risks for senators from both parties. Warnings are also coming from the Republican side. Senator Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into the "existential risks" that AI products could pose, while Representative Anna Paulina Luna has called for a special session of Congress to address AI issues. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna has gone a step further, advocating the establishment of an independent AI regulatory agency. However, political positions are divided over the distinction between acknowledging AI's risks and actually slowing its development. Republican Senator Ted Cruz said that "much more regulation" is needed, but opposed slowing development itself because of competition with China. He even said, "If killer robots are going to exist, American killer robots are better than Chinese killer robots." This reveals Washington's dilemma: it is concerned about both AI risks and China's pursuit. Political leaders have also begun to act. Mike Johnson, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, left open the possibility of holding a meeting involving President Trump, congressional leaders, and CEOs of major AI companies. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic Leader, is also scheduled to discuss AI issues with Democratic lawmakers. 'AI Risk or China's Catch-up'... A Key Issue in the Midterm Elections The debate is heading toward the November midterm elections. The New York Times (NYT) reported that concerns about AI are rapidly spreading not only in Washington, D.C., but also at campaign sites. Alongside concerns about data centers' power consumption and environmental impact, job displacement, and the concentration of power in Big Tech, the question of how far AI itself should be allowed to develop has emerged as a new political point of contention. In particular, a political alignment is emerging that is difficult to explain solely through the existing progressive-conservative divide. Progressive Sanders and conservative Hawley are both calling for a strong response to AI risks. President Trump and Cruz, on the other hand, acknowledge AI's dangers but draw the line at having the United States slow down first in the competition with China for technological hegemony. Ultimately, the question that began in Washington, D.C. has gone beyond simply asking whether AI should be regulated. Where the United States should draw the line between the risks posed by uncontrollable AI and the risk of ceding the initiative to China by slowing development has emerged as a key issue in American politics. [email protected] Correspondent Lee Byeong-cheol Reporter