‘SICK conspiracy’: Trump rejects AI guardrails after Anthropic CEO urges slowdown

President Donald Trump has said that the US does not need additional guardrails for artificial intelligence, arguing that a “strong and smart (High IQ!) President” is enough to keep the technology under control. Trump made the comments Monday as a growing group of technology executives called for a slower pace of AI development and stronger safeguards. He said the US already has “tremendous Criminal and regulatory power” over AI companies. Trump also accused critics of the technology and data-center buildout of a “sick” that benefits China. His comments came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged the industry to slow the development of increasingly capable AI models. The disagreement highlights a widening divide between the US administration’s push to maintain its lead in AI and concerns from some technology leaders that development is moving faster than safety measures. Safety race meets scale Amodei warned in a weekend essay that AI agents could become capable of taking over large parts of the internet within six to 12 months if development continues without adequate safeguards. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI chief Elon Musk backed his call for pacing frontier AI development. Trump, however, argued that slowing development could weaken the US position against China. He has repeatedly framed AI leadership as a strategic competition, saying over the weekend that “whoever wins AI wins.” In a separate Monday social media post, the U.S. president said concerns over AI were driven by the fact that the US was leading other countries by a wide margin. “Don’t kill the Golden Goose!” he wrote, arguing against measures that could slow the country’s AI development. The president also pointed to actions already taken by his administration against AI companies. “The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things,’ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel’ — and we will continue to do so,” Trump said. The comments followed a series of warnings from researchers about the risks of increasingly capable AI systems, including Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who recently tendered his resignation over concerns that people developing AI believe the technology could pose an existential threat within the decade. Data centers become battleground The argument is also moving beyond AI models and into the physical infrastructure needed to run them. Trump linked opposition to AI data centers with the wider pushback against the technology, saying China would be the main beneficiary if US development slows. The debate comes as AI systems are becoming increasingly capable of operating with limited human supervision. Amodei warned that within six to 12 months, an AI agent swarm could potentially take over large parts of the internet, underscoring the challenge of building safety controls quickly enough to match advances in capability. The Trump administration has largely backed rapid AI expansion during its second term, while industry leaders are now asking for more time to assess risks and build safety systems. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the administration wants to “regulate smartly” while avoiding rules that could weaken the US position in an AI race with China.“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. So, I think we just have to be careful about this,” Vance said.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.With over a decade-long career in journalism, Neetika Walter has worked with The Economic Times, ANI, and Hindustan Times, covering politics, business, technology, and the clean energy sector. Passionate about contemporary culture, books, poetry, and storytelling, she brings depth and insight to her writing. When she isn’t chasing stories, she’s likely lost in a book or enjoying the company of her dogs.