AI researchers warn that the tech could have catastrophic consequences for humanity. But Trump says he has no concerns: ‘We are leading China’

President Donald Trump said late Thursday that existential risks from artificial intelligence do not worry him. He told reporters his attention is on the United States holding its advantage over China.

When asked if he has concerns about existential risks posed by AI, Trump said, “No, I don’t have any,” according to POLITICO. He continued, “I have concerns that if we don’t win AI, we’re going to be put in a very bad position.” Trump also said, “We are leading China right now by a pretty good period.”

The comments came as he left Dallas. They followed a viral warning from a researcher who previously worked at OpenAI and Anthropic.

Former lab researcher says companies are racing toward superintelligence

Jacob Coxon wrote on X that he resigned from Anthropic. He said he spent the last three years doing pre-training research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. He wrote that neither company is acting responsibly. He said they are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.

He wrote, “Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.” Coxon added that people building AI earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade.

Coxon wrote that this is not a marketing stunt. He said many executives and senior researchers couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible, but he hears the same people express fear. He wrote that a common response is why they keep building the technology if they believe the risk.

Coxon said that at OpenAI many have not deeply internalized the civilizational stakes. At Anthropic, he wrote, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first.

Coxon wrote that accepting this race and entering the “endgame” is a hubristic gamble that should not be launched from a private company’s Slack. He said he is optimistic about the potential for coordination and cited warning shots like the Hugging Face attack.

Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said this week that the AI risks are “deeply concerning” in an interview with POLITICO’s The Conversation with Dasha Burns. Cruz also said the United States cannot fall behind China.

Cruz said his committee may hold a markup this month on AI legislation. The package includes a bill he is working on with Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to address AI uses that create biological and nuclear threats.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called on Congress to convene a special session on AI to address its effects. Trump has reportedly been supportive of the American AI industry, which has been driving economic growth and lifting the stock market.

Trump also parted ways with some Republican officials and voters who have sought a slowdown in data center construction over energy and land-use concerns. Last month he wrote on social media, “The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.” This stance has drawn criticism from some of his own supporters, as seen when MAGA figures publicly turned on Trump for slamming communities.

He added, “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement.”