President Donald Trump dismissed warnings that artificial intelligence could threaten human survival, saying his priority is maintaining U.S. leadership over China. His remarks follow a rare public campaign by current and former employees at OpenAI and Anthropic urging a slowdown in the push toward more capable systems, citing risks from recursive self-improvement. Researchers at both labs warned that industry progress could outpace safety readiness. The debate is intensifying in Washington, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers is advancing proposals to tighten oversight of frontier models. Reps. Jay Obernolte (R., Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D., Mass.) plan to introduce the FRONTIER Act to establish guardrails for advanced AI deployment, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D., Texas) proposed a temporary pause on cutting-edge development until federal safety standards are in place. The split between the White House’s competitive focus and growing safety concerns underscores the stakes of the U.S.-China race to shape the next phase of AI.
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