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Trump says AI safety fears a 'hoax' as he rejects calls for greater safeguards

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Hoskins, P. (2026, September 15). Trump says AI safety fears a 'hoax' as he rejects calls for greater safeguards. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw980n0nd0qjo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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BBC News · collected 2026-09-15 · by Peter Hoskins

Quick Summary

US President Donald Trump dismissed fears about artificial intelligence (AI) safety as a "hoax," contrasting this with calls from industry experts like Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, for mandatory third-party oversight mechanisms such as "kill switches." These warnings stem from recent concerns raised by AI company executives and employees over the potential risks posed by rapid technological advancement. Trump's remarks were made in social media posts where he also drew comparisons to his past criticism of climate change efforts and alleged Russian interference in elections.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

President Trump dismissed growing concerns about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), asserting that there is no need for additional regulation or "guardrails" on AI development. In posts on social media and comments to reporters, he claimed that the United States already has a sufficient safeguard in his presidency, stating, “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.” Trump also accused unnamed forces of exaggerating risks and engaging in a "SICK conspiracy" against AI companies. This stance contrasts with calls from leading scientists and tech CEOs like Dario Amodei from Anthropic and Sam Altman from OpenAI, who advocate for slowing down the pace of AI development due to safety concerns. The disagreement comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Washington on September 24 for an official summit where AI will be a key topic of discussion between the two nations.

Written for “Trump AI Rants Condemning Critics” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 40 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump AI Rants Condemning Critics
Politics · 41 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 4 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
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Outlet record 60/100
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Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 70/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 8 of 52 claims Outlet record 95/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
6 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
41
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4709 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Peter Hoskins
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Avanti West Coast main line to be nationalised
🔮 Both Japan's Ministry of Finance and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the time that they would not hesitate to conduct more joint interventions in the future.
🔮 The boss of OpenAI Sam Altman said earlier this week: "The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it's the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this." AI has come under intense scrutiny in recent days following warnings over the serious potential risks it poses to humans. In the blog, OpenAI detailed examples of its AI models misbehaving so they could achieve a task or succeed in a test.
🔮 It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry.
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🔮 The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) told shipping firms on Thursday that 32 vessels a day will be able to pass through it from 15 September, compared to 36 currently.
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🔮 Both Japan's Ministry of Finance and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said that they will not hesitate to conduct more joint interventions in the future.
Also by Peter Hoskins
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Peter Hoskins →

Topics

Anthropic BBC China RUSSIA the Radical Left Dumocrats

Subjects

Anthropic ORG · 4× China GPE · 4× BBC ORG · 3× RUSSIA GPE · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× Clark PERSON · 2× Washington GPE · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Jack Clark PERSON · 1× the Radical Left Dumocrats NORP · 1×

Narrative

The bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI, have also said they agree with Amodei's proposal for industry-wide deceleration and regulation, as well as independent monitoring of AI model development.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry.

Claims (26 extracted, 6 hedged)

- Published US President Donald Trump has said fears about the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) are a "hoax", as he criticised calls to have more guardrails in place for the fast-moving technology. asserted
he → publish → technology
It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry. uncertain
that → come → industry
Clark's comments followed warnings about the risks the technology poses to humanity that have been raised in recent days by several executives and staff at leading AI firms. asserted
that → follow → firms
Those concerns triggered a selloff in tech firms' shares as investors weighed the impact of a potential slowdown in the multi-billion dollar development of AI. asserted
investors → trigger → AI
In a series of social media posts, the US president compared warnings about AI to the "Global Warming Scam" which, he said, was "being perpetrated by the Radical Left Dumocrats". asserted
he → compare → Dumocrats
Trump also called himself "the Hoax Buster", likening concerns about the safety of the technology to what he called "the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX". asserted
he → call → what
The only "guardrails" needed for AI was a "strong and smart" president, said Trump. asserted
Trump → need → AI
In another post he wrote: "There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. asserted
that → write → it
WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!" asserted
WHOEVER → win → AI
Chinese state media said experts had warned that "Washington's growing anxiety over China's rapid AI development appears to be increasingly distorting its policy priorities". asserted
anxiety → say → priorities
"They know that China has become a strong competitor in AI, and worry that if the US slows down development or tightens regulation, China could catch up even faster," Xin Qiang, a professor of American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times. uncertain
Qiang → know → Times
Clark, who is one of Anthropic's seven founders, said earlier on Monday that a way of shutting off AI software completely if it gets too dangerous was something society "might want to eventually pass rules around". uncertain
society → say → rules
He added that "most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug", including Anthropic, but said lawmakers may need to enforce having one. UK Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said on Tuesday that people should "never be complacent" about the impact AI might have but added: "We've got to be careful not to get hyperbolic about this either." uncertain
We → add → this
Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Of course there are risks but, let's be frank, there are some tremendous upsides, whether it's public services, healthcare, the contribution to the economy." asserted
it → speak → economy
A growing number of tech industry and political figures are calling for better safeguards, most recently Microsoft AI which this week discussed limiting the models it is developing in a document on what it called "humanist AI". asserted
it → grow → what
Microsoft AI's chief executive Mustafa Suleyman told business news channel CNBC that it had been working on the new guidance for months and had decided to publish it now due to the current debate around the technology. asserted
it → tell → technology
In an indication of how concerns over the technology have been thrust into the spotlight, two high-profile figures on opposite sides of US politics are set to appear at the same event calling for a re-evaluation of AI policy. asserted
figures → thrust → policy
Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and veteran progressive Senator Bernie Sanders are due to speak at the "Pro-Human Assembly" in Washington on Tuesday. asserted
Bannon → speak → Tuesday
According to its website the gathering "aims to define a shared vision and articulate a better, more human-centric path for AI development". uncertain
gathering → accord → development
Sanders told BBC's Newsnight last week that "we have got to do something immediately to stop the uncontrolled growth of AI". " asserted
we → tell → AI
You've got the existential threat of the possibility of humanity being wiped out," he said. asserted
he → get → possibility
The debate over the potential dangers posed by the technology intensified in recent days after a post by Jacob Coxon, a researcher who left Anthropic over concerns AI could wipe out humanity, went viral. uncertain
AI → pose → humanity
In response, Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger said he thought the possibility of AI causing human extinction "within the next decade" was more than 10%. asserted
possibility → say → decade
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of AI development to slow and be more closely monitored, as the company has done before, though some have questioned the motivations behind this. asserted
some → call → this
Amodei also said that any action to rein in AI should be done "without sacrificing commercial advantage". asserted
action → say → advantage
The bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI, have also said they agree with Amodei's proposal for industry-wide deceleration and regulation, as well as independent monitoring of AI model development. asserted
they → say → development
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