Trump Calls AI Safety Fears a Hoax

US President Donald Trump has dismissed growing alarm about artificial intelligence safety as a “hoax”, criticising calls for additional safeguards for the rapidly developing technology.

Trump Denounces Calls For More Guardrails

In a series of posts on Monday, Trump compared warnings about AI to what he described as the “Global Warming Scam”, claiming it was being pushed by the “Radical Left Dumocrats”. He also presented himself as “the Hoax Buster” and likened concerns over AI safety to “the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX”.

Trump argued that stronger controls were unnecessary, adding that the only guardrails AI needed were a “strong and smart” president. He also said a “sick conspiracy” was under way involving AI and data centres, claiming the only country benefiting was China.

Anthropic Co-Founder Warns On Mandatory Controls

The comments followed remarks from Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, who told the BBC earlier on Monday that a “kill switch” for dangerous AI software—one that could be checked by an independent third party—may need to be made mandatory.

Clark’s comments came after warnings in recent days from multiple executives and staff at leading AI firms about risks the technology could pose to society. The concerns contributed to a selloff in shares of some technology companies on Monday, as investors assessed the possibility that development could slow if regulation expands.

Clark, one of Anthropic’s seven founders, said labs already use different ways to disable systems if they become too risky, including within Anthropic. He said lawmakers might nonetheless need to enforce that such capability exists across the sector.

Wider Political Debate And Market Response

The safety debate has drawn attention from politicians across the political spectrum. On Tuesday in Washington, former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and veteran progressive Senator Bernie Sanders are scheduled to speak at an event called the “Pro-Human Assembly”.

According to the event website, it aims to set out a shared vision and a more human-centred direction for AI development. Sanders told BBC Newsnight last week that action is needed immediately to stop what he described as the uncontrolled growth of AI, adding that there is a risk of an “existential threat” involving the possibility of humanity being wiped out.

The discussion intensified after a viral post by Jacob Coxon, a researcher who left Anthropic, in which he warned that AI could wipe out humanity. In response, Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger said he believed the likelihood of AI causing human extinction within the next decade was more than 10%.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei earlier called for AI development to slow and be monitored more closely, and has previously made similar arguments. He also said any steps to rein in the technology should be taken “without sacrificing commercial advantage”. Some observers have questioned the motives behind efforts to slow progress.

Microsoft Publishes “Humanist AI” Outline

Separately, Microsoft AI became the latest major firm to address potential limits on the models it is developing. The company published an outline document describing what it called “humanist AI”.

Microsoft chief executive Mustafa Suleyman told CNBC the company had been working on the guidance for months and chose to release it now because of the current public debate about AI. He said the decision reflected the wider discussion around how the technology should be governed.

Amodei’s call for slower, industry-wide deceleration and regulation, including independent monitoring of model development, was also supported by Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI, according to statements reported earlier.

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15 September 2026