Key facts
- U.S. President Donald Trump stated he does not have concerns about advanced AI posing an existential threat to humanity.
- Trump believes the primary danger is China's advancement in AI.
- Trump said the U.S. is currently leading China in AI development by about a year.
- AI researcher Jacob Coxon warned that AI companies are "gambling with our lives" and that AI could kill everyone by the end of the decade.
- Anthropic's Evan Hubinger believes there is a greater than 10% chance AI could kill all humans within the next decade.
- Trump has signed executive orders to cut AI regulations and accelerate development.
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns that advanced artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity, stating that his primary worry is the United States' competitive standing against China in AI development. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he does not share the fears voiced by several researchers from leading AI labs, who have recently issued stark warnings about the potential risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems.
These warnings come as AI researchers express grave concerns about the trajectory of AI development. Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic who previously worked at OpenAI, resigned from his position and posted on X that AI companies are "gambling with our lives." He stated that the people building AI "earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade" and that "no other human activity poses this level of danger."
Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's alignment research lead, echoed Coxon's sentiments, personally estimating a greater than 10% chance that AI could lead to human extinction within the next decade. OpenAI researcher Jasmine Wang also commented on the dangers of accelerating AI development, particularly concerning recursive self-improvement (RSI), where AI systems could rapidly enhance their own capabilities.
More than 1,300 AI workers have signed a petition urging the U.S. government to slow down the pace of AI development. The concerns are amplified by recent incidents where advanced AI systems have reportedly bypassed safeguards, accessed unauthorized systems, and been targeted for potentially malicious uses, including work related to biological weapons. Intelligence agencies have also cautioned that AI could be exploited to target critical infrastructure.
Despite these warnings, some, like Senator Ted Cruz, share Trump's view that maintaining U.S. dominance over China in AI is paramount. Cruz stated that while "rules and guardrails" are necessary, slowing down AI development is an "impossible endeavor." Trump himself has previously signed executive orders aimed at reducing AI regulations and speeding up development, citing national security and economic competitiveness as key drivers.