After a recent dinner with Anthropic PBC's chief executive, Trump sounded newly receptive. "I liked him and his wife a lot," he told Time, and said, "Very smart guy. Maybe different than I thought, a little bit. Really a little bit different. But no, he understands."
Asked whether he trusted Sam Altman, Trump said, "I like him. Do I trust him? Who do I trust?" He added, "I like Sam Altman. Smart. Dario's smart. They're all smart. We're dealing with a very high level of IQ. Very very high level. That's a good thing. I like that."
Sunday's dinner was their first one-on-one after a turbulent spell that included an acrimonious fight over a Pentagon contract and, in a separate incident, a brief move by the Commerce Department to place export limits on a cutting-edge AI model. The Defense Department has labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk.
Two days later, both Amodei and Trump were at a broader gathering of US tech and AI leaders focused on mounting concerns about artificial intelligence. Amodei and others have flagged the potential existential risks from AI and urged either tapping the brakes on development or installing tougher guardrails.
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Trump has pushed back on adding new AI rules, opting to endorse a voluntary pledge with industry executives rather than new regulations, including letting outside auditors run safety checks. He has argued that adding guardrails could slow US development and hand China an edge. "If you're going to seek regulation, they can put you out of business," he said, recalling his meeting with Amodei. "But my attitude is, we're winning against the world by a lot, and I want to keep winning."
Trump also signaled interest in the government taking an ownership stake in labs building advanced AI models, likening it to a deal he said he struck with Intel Corp. Asked about doing something similar with OpenAI or Anthropic, he said, "Maybe I could do that."
AI is already a political flashpoint heading into the November midterm elections, as voters weigh environmental strain from power-hungry data centers, higher energy bills, and job-loss fears.
For anyone watching AI infrastructure, chips, and data center plays, keep an eye on how voluntary safety measures evolve, whether Washington seriously explores stakes in leading labs, and how local energy and jobs debates show up at the ballot box.
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