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Trump says existing US powers are enough to police AI companies.
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Amodei’s safety proposal has won backing from Altman and Musk.
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US senators are weighing legislation requiring precautions against AI harm.
September 15, (THEWILL) – President Donald Trump has pushed back against calls for tighter artificial intelligence oversight, arguing that Washington already has enough power to police an industry whose own leaders are asking for stronger safety checks.
His remarks on Monday, September 14, exposed a widening disagreement over how America should manage increasingly powerful AI systems.
Leading developers want independent scrutiny and more time to address risks. Trump says existing criminal and regulatory powers are sufficient, and warns that slowing development could help China.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said AI needed a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT” as its guardrail. He later dismissed the industry’s call for regulation as a “hoax”, according to Reuters.
His response came as AI-related shares fell worldwide following calls from senior technology executives to slow development.
AI Builders Want Outside Scrutiny
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei proposed a three-step framework on Saturday intended to ease the pace of development and give companies more time to manage risks.
His recommendations include US regulations requiring independent audits of frontier models, the industry’s most advanced AI systems. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and xAI boss Elon Musk endorsed the proposal.
Concern had intensified after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced his resignation, saying people building AI believed it could threaten humanity’s survival before the decade ends. His statement reflected fears within parts of the industry, rather than an established forecast.
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Washington is considering a legislative response. Three US senators are working on a bill that would require AI companies to demonstrate reasonable precautions against harm, although its details remain under discussion.
Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat involved in technology legislation, spoke with Amodei and Altman over the weekend.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also said Trump was expected to meet AI executives this week or early next week to discuss company safety responsibilities and a possible government role.
White House Questions the Push for Rules
Vice President JD Vance expressed scepticism about executives asking Washington to regulate their businesses.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang questioned why companies seeking a slowdown could not act themselves.
Speaking at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles, he said pausing or pacing development were voluntary options available to them.
Trump joined the event by phone, describing data centres as the “oil of the next 20, 25 years” and arguing that opposition to AI development could serve China’s interests.
He is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington next week.
Reuters previously reported that officials from both countries were also planning separate discussions about AI risks.
Relations between Trump’s administration and Anthropic are already strained.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked the company from certain military contracts after it refused to permit use of its Claude models for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons.
Anthropic challenged the restrictions in court and secured a favourable ruling in one lawsuit on August 27.
Now, the dispute extends beyond how government uses AI to how government should oversee it.
Trump points to Washington’s power to punish wrongdoing. Amodei’s proposal seeks independent checks intended to identify dangers before harm occurs.
Joy Onuorah is a business journalist and brand communications specialist covering financial markets, artificial intelligence, digital economy, and the ideas reshaping business across Africa and the global market. Beyond her reporting for TheWill, Joy uses brand strategy, storytelling, copywriting, and high-value SEO to help brands build lasting market authority.
