// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Why Trump is all-in on AI despite the warnings
According to Donald Trump, concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence technology – that "robots will be marching into our cities and getting rid of us all" – are a hoax.
It's the kind of language the US president typically reserves for the objects of his most intense derision – theories about human-driven climate change, investigations into Russian election-meddling, and the drives to impeach and remove him from office during his first presidential term.
Styling himself as the "hoax buster", in a series of social media posts on Monday he issued a full-throated endorsement of what he called "the greatest economic development engine in history" and scorned those who doubted the benefits of the technology.
The ranks of doubters have been growing in recent weeks, however, amidst anxiety over the disruptive nature of AI - if not worries about potentially civilisation-threatening danger - among some industry insiders and politicians, including from within Trump's own Republican Party.
OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but should trust AI firms
AI regulation faces political deadlock as calls grow for Congress to act
Trump says AI safety fears a 'hoax' as he rejects calls for greater safeguards
None of that has deterred Trump, however, whose latest social media fusillade was only his latest effort to turn back growing AI scepticism through sheer force of will.
Whether the president views the AI fight as pivotal to his economic legacy, a key battleground in a global struggle for power, or another example of his enemies conspiring against him, he has, by fully joining the fight, elevated the issue to the forefront of American politics. That is even at the risk of crossing longtime allies.
"We think this could be a great technology, but we're not going to give these guys a carte blanche," former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said at a "pro-human" conference on the dangers of AI on Tuesday. "There's been no debate."