President Trump said artificial intelligence will be a “big topic” when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
He is not looking to rock the boat, however, signaling that he likes how the race to dominate AI is going so far.
“A big day with President Xi of China,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social. “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China’s position also.”
Mr. Trump is rebranding AI as SI, or “Super Intelligence,” and says the Department of Justice will be looking for any use of the technology that runs afoul of the law.
He is reluctant to impose sweeping regulations on the technology, fearing it will stifle U.S. advancement and benefit China.
“Our guardrail is the DOJ!” he said in his post.
Some lawmakers are calling for stringent regulation of the rapidly growing AI industry, which is intertwined with the stock market.
Employees within the AI industry are sounding the alarm, too, pointing to incidents in which AI agents overrode their human instructions. Some say the technology could eradicate humanity.
A parallel debate rages over the data centers needed to power the technology.
Candidates on both sides of the aisle are tapping into not-in-my-backyard angst around the facilities, which require a lot of power and could impact the surrounding environment.
Yet the Trump administration sees the AI race with China as a battle for military and economic supremacy.
Mr. Trump, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly this week, said the U.S. cannot be so cautious that it holds itself back.
“I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution,” he said. “Many say bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the internet itself. And we will be very careful, and that’s why we have a Department of Justice.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently put the onus on AI companies to be careful, saying the government will not waive liability for the firms and the industry is free to slow down anytime it wants.
Also, Mr. Bessent set up the “USA-China AI Dialogue” with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng earlier this month.
The superpowers plan to alert each other about alarming AI-related incidents.
Officials will reconvene in Shenzhen, China, in two months to discuss the issue.
They plan to discuss uncontrollable AI agents or the use of AI by non-government organizations that hold influence in a given country.
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