The US president said the US should not work with China on the technology despite growing concerns.
Published September 26, 2026
US President Donald Trump says his country will not heed growing calls to restrict the development of artificial intelligence.
As he left the White House on Saturday, President Trump told reporters that the United States is “not going to put the brakes on” the push for AI, even though US lawmakers and the CEOs of the nation’s biggest tech companies agree on the need to slow down the pace of AI because it could endanger humanity.
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The president likened these concerns to other issues he has previously called “hoaxes,” including climate change and the investigation into whether he colluded with Russian agents in the 2016 presidential election.
“When you try to put on the brakes, it’s like we’re all going to die. You’re all going to die because of global warming. It’s like the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. All these different hoaxes,” Trump said.
“What they want to do is stop our progress because we are far ahead of China,” he added. “And we intend to keep it that way.”
President Trump, who just concluded a three-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said the United States should not cooperate with China on this technology.
“I would rather not consolidate, because we have a significant lead,” he said. “When you’re leading, you don’t open up to each other.”
In his final speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged leaders to enact guardrails on AI, warning that unchecked development “without accountability” could put the world at risk.
U.S. lawmakers and experts had hoped that Trump and Xi would use the meeting to reach a landmark agreement on AI. But that didn’t happen.
“We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about it,” Trump said.
Amid criticism in Washington and around the world over the wasted opportunity, the White House announced Friday that the United States and China have agreed to establish a “bilateral communication channel” on AI incidents. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government on the White House statement.
But the president said discussions about AI with Xi, who is scheduled to meet with Trump two more times this year, focused primarily on Xi’s preferred name for the technology, “superintelligence.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that China “respects” the U.S. government’s switch from artificial intelligence to “superintelligence” after President Donald Trump said Xi Jinping seemed to like the rephrasing of the phrase.
The President of the United States announced on Tuesday that his administration will change the name of AI to “Superintelligence” (SI) in official communications.
“Artificial intelligence technology is continuously developing, and in light of the latest situation, all parties can strengthen exchanges, thoroughly discuss and seek agreement,” said a statement from an anonymous Chinese ministry spokesperson.
On AI, Mr. Xi took a more measured tone than Mr. Trump, saying the technology must be developed under human control.
