Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting

<figure> <img alt="A photo of Donald Trump with an illustrated background." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yesterday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994337/anthropic-ceo-slow-down-ai-development">lengthy open letter</a> saying it was time to "pace the frontier" and slow down AI development. OpenAI's <a href="https://x.com/sama/status/2098811563415150910">Sam Altman</a> and <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2098789109980332057">Elon Musk</a> both agreed, publicly voicing their support on X. Even Alphabet's Demis Hassabis offered <a href="https://x.com/demishassabis/status/2098909516582490602">tentative support</a> for Amodei's proposal. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, seem to think the AI executives are being <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/trump-defends-white-houses-light-touch-on-ai-regulation-c4ed2488">overreactive</a> and fear that a pause could lead to China outpacing the US in the AI race. According to the <em><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cae60732-f929-4735-a627-db8c14e7c7ed">Financial Times</a></em>, Trump said "Look, we're leading China in AI … and, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI, wins."</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jo …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994441/trump-mike-johnson-ai-industry-overreacting">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>