US President Donald Trump dismissed growing concerns over the dangers of artificial intelligence as a “hoax” during a live phone call with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, 15th September. Trump called Huang while the Nvidia chief was speaking on a panel at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles, turning the discussion into a wider debate over AI safety and the pace of development.
Trump criticised calls for AI development slowdown, suggesting that such efforts could be politically motivated or could benefit China. “The AI pushback is just playing right into the hands of a lot of people that don’t want to see it happen,” Trump said. “And that could be political people. It could also be China.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took a live call from Donald Trump during a panel discussion, allowing the US president to dismiss artificial intelligence dangers as a hoax https://t.co/oNXJEKxF3t
— Bloomberg (@business) September 14, 2026
Huang agreed with Trump and said the president had understood the complicated issues surrounding the debate. At the same time, the Nvidia CEO defended the importance of listening to people who raise concerns about AI safety.
Nvidia CEO praises Anthropic whistleblower
The discussion comes after Jacob Coxon, a researcher at AI company Anthropic, resigned over concerns about the direction of AI development. Coxon said Anthropic and OpenAI were “gambling with our lives” by moving too quickly.
Huang praised Coxon for speaking out, calling the researcher courageous. He said companies should take whistleblowers seriously rather than ignore them.
However, Huang argued that the current debate is creating a false choice between rapid AI development and safety. He said innovation and safety measures should not necessarily be treated as opposing goals.
The issue gained further attention after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a 3,800-word essay calling for a global slowdown in the development of increasingly powerful AI systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have also supported parts of Amodei’s argument.
The concerns have also affected financial markets. US technology stocks fell on Monday amid fears that companies could reduce their spending on AI infrastructure. Nvidia shares dropped 3.4%. The company has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the huge investment in AI data centres because its chips are widely used to run AI models.
Trump defends data centre expansion
Trump has strongly backed the construction of new AI data centres in the US despite growing opposition in some states. He criticised states that refuse to approve permits for such facilities and argued that data centres would create significant wealth.
Trump said AI infrastructure could become as important as major industries of the past. “It’s the oil of the next 20, 25 years,” he said. “It’s bigger than the internet.”
China calls AI slowdown demands ‘Fearmongering’
The debate has also drawn a strong response from China. Beijing rejected calls for the US to restrict China’s AI development, describing such arguments as “fearmongering” and urging countries to cooperate on AI governance.
BREAKING: China rejects calls from U.S. tech leaders to slow AI development, blasting the warnings as “fearmongering.”
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) September 14, 2026
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “Fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance, which serves no one’s interest.”
The comments came after Amodei warned that a Chinese lead in AI could pose a serious threat to the US and other democracies. He argued that global cooperation would be needed to manage the risks while maintaining a technological advantage for democratic countries.
China has also acknowledged concerns over the rapid development of AI. President Xi Jinping previously said AI should “always remain under human control.”
The debate is expected to gain further attention as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI governance, among other issues, at a meeting planned for 24th September.
