Trump: "Must Stay Ahead of China in AI Race... Risks Exaggerated"

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump argued that the United States must maintain its leading position by staying ahead of China in the artificial intelligence (AI) technology race. He dismissed the potential threat of AI to humanity, which has been repeatedly raised by experts recently, as an excessive concern.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and others on the 13th (local time), President Trump met with reporters at his golf course in Ireland and stated, "The United States is ahead of China in the field of AI."
He went on to emphasize, "The United States is the most advanced country in the world, and we want to maintain this status," adding, "because the country that wins the AI competition will ultimately be the winner."
When asked whether the pace of development in the AI industry should be slowed or regulations tightened, President Trump replied, "We can take various measures, such as establishing safeguards."
However, he argued that "very negative forces are bringing up issues that do not need to be raised" and "are highlighting things that will not actually happen."
President Trump's remarks came amid a series of warnings from experts that AI could threaten the survival of humanity.
Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher who recently left Anthropic, warned that if the current pace of development continues, there is a high probability that humanity will go extinct in the near future.
Coxon stated in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on that day, "Employees developing AI systems are genuinely afraid of the future of humanity."
While agreeing with the argument that the pace of AI development should be slowed, Coxon emphasized that cooperation with China must be a prerequisite.
CEOs in the AI industry have also lent support to the argument for slowing down the pace of development.
Elon Musk, founder of xAI, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, supported the plan to control the pace of AI development proposed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei the previous day.
The Trump administration has actively supported AI companies since the start of its second term. Major AI and technology companies are also supporting President Trump's policy initiatives.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Specialist Reporter