'Whoever wins AI wins,' Trump says, calling critics of the technology 'negative forces' | CBC News

U.S. president tells reporters at his Ireland golf course that he wants U.S. as AI leader

President Donald Trump on Sunday likened critics of ‌artificial intelligence (AI) to "very negative forces" bringing up scenarios that won't happen, and said he wants to make sure the U.S. remains the industry leader.

"We could put guardrails. We can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of very negative forces ​that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up and they're bringing up things ⁠that won't happen."

Trump's visit to Ireland this weekend began with talks with President Catherine Connolly and Prime Minister Micheál Martin. Trump then travelled to watch the Irish Open tournament at his golf course.

The public debate about the technology has ‌heated up in the U.S. after two researchers with the safety and research company Anthropic issued warnings that the rapidly progressing technology could lead to the extinction of the human race in the not-too-distant future.

Could AI really 'kill all humans'? Breaking down the dire warnings about the technology's existential risk

In his second term, Trump's administration has largely embraced AI firms. AI leaders and other technology companies have also supported Trump's initiatives.

Trump has kept up his support for data centres even as the two parties run from them and many communities try to block them.

"I would talk about this, and I would say, ‘Here's our plan for safety, here's our plan for making sure our kids are not corrupted by this.' … I would be thinking about the economic impacts in very concrete ways and understanding what does it mean if there's going to be job displacement. Where is that going to hit? How are we going to respond?" Obama said last week at an event with the top Democrat in the U.S. House, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, according to a transcript released by Obama's office.

Donald Trump and son Eric Trump, right to left, watch the Irish Open at the Trump International Golf Links course in Doonbeg on Saturday. The tournament was won by Irish golfer Shane Lowry for the second time. (Peter Morrison/The Associated Press)

AI ⁠executives have poured money into the midterm campaign ahead of the Nov. 3 election that will determine control of Congress. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's super political action committee, America PAC, has already spent millions backing Republican candidates and is expected to play a major ‌role in voter turnout efforts this fall.

After the warnings from the Anthropic researchers, some AI CEOs are pushing for slowing the advancement of the technology.