"Sick Conspiracy": US, China On Same Page On Snubbing AI Slowdown Calls

US and Chinese leaders were seen in a rare agreement on Monday after leading AI CEOs called for a "slowdown" on artificial intelligence development, with Donald Trump dismissing it as a "sick conspiracy" and China's foreign ministry labelling it as "fear mongering".

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, US President Donald Trump said the calls to hit the brakes on superintelligent AI development were a "sick conspiracy" against artificial intelligence and data centres.

"The only control or "guardrails" that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the USA has that, in spades," he said.

His comments come two days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei flagged the risks of AI, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk backing him.

"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS," Trump wrote in his post.

He said the US was leading China and all other countries in terms of AI development, and "will continue to do so". "Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE," Trump noted.

While Trump's post talks about competing with China, the two countries remained on the same page in terms of dismissing AI threats flagged by the CEOs.

Earlier in the day, China's foreign ministry hit back at Amodei's call as well.

"Fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance which serves no one's interest," spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Monday.

US and Chinese companies have developed powerful AI companies. The AI tools developed by China re often cheaper to use, and by some measures, just as capable.

Trump had on Sunday branded the AI threat calls as "negative forces".

"I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up, and they're bringing up things that won't happen," the US President told reporters during a visit to Ireland.

In an editorial published Sunday, China's state-run Global Times newspaper also dismissed Amodei's essay as a veiled call to "contain" China. It said that Amodei's essay may appear on the surface to be focused on global AI security, but, that it is "packed with containment provisions targeting China and is, in essence, a 'Cold War playbook' for the AI sector."

Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24 at the White House, where the leaders are expected to discuss AI governance among other things.