Trump tells 60 Minutes he doesn't mind AI guardrails but wants U.S. to stay ahead of China

President Donald Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes that the risks of artificial intelligence can be managed and that he does not mind guardrails on the technology, in an interview with correspondent Ross Douthat that aired Sunday, Nov. 8. Douthat met with Trump at the White House on Friday, Nov. 6, for his first sit-down interview since the midterm elections, CBS News said.

Douthat asked whether racing China made AI’s risks worth taking, or whether Trump thought the risk was not real. Trump said the risk was “not nearly as real” as described. “And I think the risk can be managed,” he said, according to the full transcript CBS News published.

Asked whether he would work with Democrats on AI safety, Trump said he “would absolutely.” He then said: “I don’t mind guardrails. But I don’t wanna put us in a deep second position. We’re leading number one. And China has no guardrails, by the way.” When Douthat said China has “the guardrails of being a totalitarian state,” Trump replied that in China, whatever President Xi says goes. Trump did not name specific rules or legislation in the exchange.

Trump has previously favored letting technology companies police themselves rather than imposing sweeping government restrictions, Reuters reported. Reuters said his latest comments suggest some openness to safeguards, though it remains unclear at what level.

The interview follows two federal actions on the technology, which the administration calls super intelligence. The Justice Department announced a Super Intelligence Task Force on Thursday, Nov. 5, to lead its response to misuse of the technology. A day earlier, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued what Reuters called its first-ever AI guidance for bank examiners, citing an Oct. 2 executive order.

Trump tells 60 Minutes he doesn’t mind AI guardrails but wants U.S. to stay ahead of China

Sources