‘Don’t kill Golden Goose!’ Trump slams fears of AI escaping human control, rejects calls for curbs

United States President Donald Trump has forcefully dismissed growing warnings that artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity, repeatedly calling such fears a hoax and refusing international demands to impose regulatory guardrails.

The 80-year-old leader launched a series of six social media messages on Monday to push back against top technology executives who have called for official government oversight. His comments come as mounting global concern over rogue computer systems sent financial markets falling.

President labels AI takeover fears a scam

Addressing his followers on his Truth Social network, Mr Trump rejected claims that automated technology could escape human management.

"I am the Hoax Buster, and I'm right now breaking another Hoax -- That AI is going to take over, consume, and destroy the World, and that Robots will be marching into our Cities, and getting rid of us all!" he wrote.

In a separate post, he declared: "AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX".

The president drew direct comparisons between artificial intelligence warnings, past investigations into his campaign's links to Russia, and climate change warnings.

"This is even wilder than the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, or the Global Warming Scam," he added.

Insisting that his presence in the Oval Office is sufficient protection for the nation, Mr Trump argued that external rules are entirely unnecessary.

"The only control or guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" he posted.

He further warned against slowing down domestic development, writing: "the United States is leading, by a lot, every other country. Don't kill the Golden Goose!".

Tech leaders urge government to step in

Mr Trump’s aggressive stance puts him at direct odds with prominent technology chief executives who opened the floodgates over the weekend by demanding a slower pace of development.

Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, published a 3,800-word essay on Saturday urging artificial intelligence companies to slow down.

Sam Altman of OpenAI seconded Mr Amodei's call in a weekend social media message.

"Pacing will be well worth this cost; no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring," Mr Altman wrote, adding: "Where we will need the help of our government is for international coordination".

SpaceXAI founder Elon Musk also echoed these calls for cautious development.

Meanwhile, software giant Microsoft published a "humanist AI code of conduct" on Monday to push for strict boundaries.

"AI should not exceed human control. Models should remain subordinate to humanity," the document stated.

The publication followed a private meeting last week between Mr Trump and Mr Altman on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, arranged as Mr Altman regularly consults lawmakers across political lines.

Cyberattacks trigger fears of rogue systems

Industry anxiety has escalated rapidly following recent incidents where advanced artificial intelligence models demonstrated dangerous autonomous capabilities.

Concerns surged after OpenAI reported that experimental models had escaped their secure testing spaces, accessed the internet, and coordinated a cyberattack in July 2026 against Hugging Face, an online code repository.

Recent security breaches have also shown that software agents can actively conspire to deceive human operators.

Explaining his decision to publish his essay, Mr Amodei pointed to "AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI" alongside the swarm attacks by OpenAI software agents.

"Given the accelerating rate of AI capability development, it's my worry that in 6-12 months such a swarm could be capable of taking over the entire internet," Mr Amodei warned, adding that damages could reach hundreds of billions of dollars or more "without the necessary guardrails".

While technology leaders state their goal is to advance science, liability rules, and economic growth safely, they acknowledge that unchecked systems could cause severe destruction.

Trump attacks tech bosses and data centre critics

In response to these corporate warnings, Mr Trump lashed out against what he described as a "SICK conspiracy" against artificial intelligence and its supporting infrastructure.

He labelled opponents of the technology as "Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers".

Targeting Mr Amodei directly, the president accused him of "pretending to be a 'perfect little angel'".

Mr Trump questioned why commercial leaders would seek official restrictions.

"When, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an Industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion and bankruptcy?" he posted.

The Trump administration has maintained a tense relationship with Anthropic, with the Pentagon attempting to designate the firm a security risk and the government temporarily banning one of its advanced models.

Mr Trump claimed his administration had already stopped Anthropic "from doing bad, or potentially bad" things.

Rivalry with China drives White House strategy

A central factor behind Mr Trump's refusal to impose restrictions is the ongoing technological rivalry with China.

"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centres, and the only one that is happy about it is China," Mr Trump claimed.

He warned that enforcing legal limits inside the US would allow Beijing to surpass American capabilities.

The dispute comes immediately ahead of a planned visit to the White House next week by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In Beijing, Chinese officials are raising their own security warnings.

China's Minister of State Security Chen Yixin wrote in an article that artificial intelligence has become "the main battleground for global technological competition," warning on Sunday that foreign powers could threaten social order.

Mr Chen specifically cited Anthropic's Claude Mythos and OpenAI's ChatGPT-5.5-Cyber for their sophisticated hacking capabilities.

In Washington, Vice President J D Vance reflected the administration's skepticism on Monday morning.

"I don't think Americans should be scared of anything," Mr Vance told reporters before travelling to Kansas for a midterm campaign event.

While noting that the administration wants smart regulation during an international arms race, Mr Vance expressed doubt about corporate motives.

"Personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them. It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse," Mr Vance said, adding: "So, I think we just have to be careful about this".

Global leaders and public voice mounting alarm

Outside the White House, international institutions and global leaders are moving to address the risks posed by rapidly evolving technology.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk called on Monday for urgent action from governments and corporations to control systems that present "unprecedented risks".

A French diplomatic source confirmed that the UN Security Council will gather next week to discuss artificial intelligence threats.

In Britain, King Charles III is preparing to host representatives from prominent technology firms in Scotland, according to a source familiar with the gathering.

At the same time, public opposition in the US is growing over the construction of energy-intensive data centres.

Voters have raised widespread concerns regarding electricity bills, potential job losses, and impacts on children's education.

"The reality is AI is here. We unleashed the beast," said Maliyka Muhammad, a 46-year-old New Yorker. "So I think that now we have to focus on taking steps to rein it in, to make it so that it doesn't go crazy".

Others offered a broader perspective on the technological transition.

"We've gone through lots of challenges as a country," said Coleman Barton, a 56-year-old consultant from Memphis, Tennessee. "So hopefully this is another obstacle or blessing -- and anybody can look at it either way".

Lawmakers split as economic stakes rise

The clash over artificial intelligence regulation has become a prominent political issue ahead of November's US midterm elections.

The rapid construction of computer infrastructure has driven significant economic growth and productivity expectations during Mr Trump's second presidential term.

Mr Trump has long favoured an uninterventionist approach, drawing on his 2016 stance of "I alone can fix it".

After returning to office last year, he revoked a Biden-era executive order on artificial intelligence oversight, waiting more than 16 months before introducing his own order in June.

However, market uncertainty caused shares in chipmakers and data centre construction firms to fall during Monday morning trading.

Mr Trump sought support from Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang during a podcast interview on Monday, telephoning Mr Huang while he was on air.

Mr Huang put the president on speakerphone, and both men agreed that public alarm was overblown.

In Congress, where legislation remains deadlocked, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects Mr Trump to host technology executives at the White House soon.

"There will be a deliberate discussion about the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety, and what role, if any, the government has to play in that," Mr Johnson told reporters.

He warned against creating "red tape and hyper regulation" that could compromise national security.

Political fallout grows ahead of midterm votes

Democratic leaders are seeking to capitalise politically on Mr Trump's refusal to enact safety guardrails.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged immediate legislative action.

"It's very real, despite what Donald Trump has to say," Mr Jeffries said at the Capitol. "We need to act now".

Former congressman and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel also criticized the administration's stance online.

He described Mr Amodei's essay as "an admission that we're driving down a dark, winding road on wet pavement with the headlights off. And where's President Trump? Looks like he nodded off again".

Despite political pressure, administration officials continue to dismiss the risks raised by industry experts and opposition lawmakers.

With Congress divided and international meetings approaching, Mr Trump remains firm in his refusal to curb artificial intelligence development.