Trump avoids defending a pause in artificial intelligence advances
US President Donald Trump on Sunday (13) downplayed warnings from executives at the country's largest technology companies about the need to slow the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development. For the president, Washington cannot risk losing its technological lead to China.
The statement came after industry leaders once again advocated some form of restraint in the advance of AI models, arguing that the current speed of research carries risks that are still poorly understood.
'We cannot fall behind'
Trump acknowledged that the sector may eventually need some rules. Still, he avoided endorsing any proposal for a pause or moratorium on training new systems — something that had been suggested by part of the industry.
The president's central argument is geopolitical: a unilateral truce by the United States would open space for other countries, especially China, to assume leadership in a technology considered strategic for the economy and national defense.
Pressure from Big Tech
- Industry executives have called for caution and advocate a broader debate on safety, jobs and existing risks.
- The White House, in turn, has signaled a preference for an approach that combines incentives for domestic innovation with targeted rules.
- The impasse pits the speed of technological development against the effort to create safeguards before systems become even more capable.
Technological race at stake
The discussion takes place amid an open dispute between Washington and Beijing for supremacy in chips, semiconductors and large language models. In recent years, the United States has adopted a series of restrictions on the export of advanced components to try to contain China's advance in the field.
Experts consulted on the matter note that the US government's position tends to prioritize competitiveness over caution, even in the face of warnings from Silicon Valley.
The debate over how to regulate artificial intelligence remains without consensus, both within the industry and among policymakers in Washington.