U.S. President Donald Trump participated in the Irish Open golf tournament at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Ireland, on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
During his visit, Trump addressed concerns about artificial intelligence (AI). Recent comments from tech industry leaders have raised alarms about AI’s potential risks. Trump, however, downplayed these warnings. Speaking to reporters at his golf resort, he suggested that warnings about AI going rogue were exaggerated. He dismissed them as claims by “negative forces” that were unlikely to materialize.
We’re leading China in AI, we’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins,Trump stated.And we can put guardrails, we can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up.
President Trump did not specify what he meant by “negative forces.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke about AI during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union. He opposed a halt on AI development, expressing concerns that such a move could allow China to surpass the U.S.
If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose the race to China,Johnson said.And that is a threat to every single American. So, we’ve got to have balance. We got to have steady hands at the wheel.
The remarks from Trump and Johnson came in response to warnings by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. On Saturday, Amodei published an essay urging a slower pace in AI capability advancement. He cautioned that unchecked AI could lead to humans losing control over systems. He also pointed out potential AI applications in cyberattacks and bioterrorism.
Amodei argued for international cooperation in AI development, suggesting labs include third-party evaluators to monitor safety. Anthropic committed to these measures on its own.
Other tech luminaries backed Amodei’s stance. On social media, Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed agreement. Altman told Fortune Magazine that OpenAI’s public offering would be postponed until at least 2027 due to safety concerns. He mentioned that company officials are considering pausing technology tests to enhance safety.
David Sacks, co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, reacted to Altman and Amodei on social media. Sacks urged tech leaders to act independently and not wait for permission to take responsible steps, emphasizing the importance of addressing product-liability risks linked to AI-enabled cyberattacks.