Trump calls AI extinction fears a 'hoax'

US President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed fears that artificial intelligence could threaten humanity, calling them a “hoax” after several tech leaders called for slowing development of the technology.

“AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He compared the warnings to investigations and impeachment proceedings from his first term.

The comment adds a high-profile political rejection to a debate that has divided AI researchers, technology executives and regulators.

Hundreds of AI scientists and industry figures signed a 2023 statement calling for the risk of AI extinction to be treated as seriously as pandemics or nuclear war.

Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told AFP that existential fears do not concern current AI systems. He said a greater near-term risk could come from human misuse, including an AI-enabled terror attack.

Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said this week that he had resigned from the US AI startup. In posts on X, he said major AI labs understood the stakes but were locked in a race to be first. He accused Anthropic and OpenAI of gambling with lives as they work on systems capable of self-improvement.

Anthropic has said that pausing its work unilaterally could allow less cautious rivals to dominate the industry. Anthropic safety executive Evan Hubinger wrote on X that he believed AI could kill all humans and estimated the risk at more than 10 percent over the next decade.

Hussein Abbass, a computing professor at UNSW Canberra, said such percentage predictions were unscientific. He said the situation remained controllable but urged governments to take an agile approach to regulation as AI development accelerates.

Some critics say extinction warnings make AI companies appear more powerful and more attractive to investors. Others argue that focusing on extinction risk distracts from immediate harms, including job losses and discrimination by machines.

In July, more than 1,000 tech employees, including Anthropic's chief executive, called on Washington to support a coordinated slowdown in the development of the most advanced AI systems. OpenAI halted training of its latest models for two weeks in August before resuming under tighter controls.

The United States has so far opposed global regulation that could stifle innovation, while also delaying some recent Anthropic and OpenAI releases over national security concerns.