Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Dismiss AI Doomsday Fears in On-Stage Call
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang fielded an unexpected phone call from Donald Trump during a stage appearance in Los Angeles, placing the conversation on speakerphone as the two weighed in on the intensifying debate over artificial intelligence safety.
During the call, Trump flatly dismissed doomsday warnings surrounding artificial intelligence, calling them a “hoax” and asserting that “robots will not take over the world.” His comments echoed recent social media posts in which he argued that the United States cannot afford to slow technological progress out of fear over extreme hypothetical risks.
Huang broadly agreed with the pro-innovation stance but offered a more measured perspective, acknowledging that AI safety warrants serious attention and commending researchers who identify real-world vulnerabilities.
However, the chipmaker chief said catastrophic predictions that AI will destroy humanity lack sufficient scientific backing, arguing that policymakers and developers must separate tangible, existing safety concerns from speculative apocalyptic scenarios in the distant future.
A Growing Divide Over AI Guardrails
The on-stage exchange highlights a deepening fracture between tech accelerationists and advocates urging caution as machine learning models grow increasingly capable.
Dario Amodei, chief executive of rival AI developer Anthropic, has advocated for a more deliberate pace in scaling cutting-edge models. Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark recently told the BBC that governments may ultimately need to mandate verifiable emergency “kill switches” for frontier AI systems, backed by independent third-party inspections.
In contrast, tech leaders aligned with Huang and political figures like Trump argue that tapping the brakes would compromise American leadership in the global tech race. As investment and computational power continue to surge, the tug-of-war between safety regulations and technological momentum shows no signs of slowing.