Trump and Anthropic CEO Clash Over AI’s Future

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is scheduled to have a private one-on-one dinner with US President Donald Trump at the White House, in what would be their first such meeting. Trump confirmed the dinner on Sunday evening. The meeting follows months of conflict between Anthropic and the Trump administration over the pace and risks of artificial intelligence development and the company’s restrictions on how its technology can be used. Trump reiterated that he opposes slowing AI development, arguing that additional regulation could allow China to overtake the United States. He acknowledged Amodei’s concerns that rapid development could increase risks, but said preserving the US technological advantage was more important. Trump estimated that the US is about a year and a half ahead of China in AI. The dinner comes two days after a federal appeals court upheld the Pentagon’s designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” a classification that bars the US military from using its models. The administration sanctioned the company after it refused to permit its tools to be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. Trump has also publicly criticized Amodei after the CEO called for a pause in AI development. Amodei was not among the AI industry leaders attending a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a rival of Amodei, was there. The article notes that the US government and major AI companies—including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta—believe slowing development could give China an advantage. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are due to meet leading AI executives on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump said he would have a private dinner with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Sunday night, marking their first one-on-one meeting. The meeting comes after months of conflict between the Trump administration and the AI company, which makes the Claude chatbot. Amodei has repeatedly raised concerns about the rapid development of advanced AI and called for a pause, while Trump has argued that the United States cannot afford to slow down as it competes with China. The invitation followed a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the Pentagon’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk, barring the US military from using its models. The administration imposed sanctions after Anthropic refused in February to allow its technology to be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. Trump has criticized Amodei over his calls to slow AI development, at one point accusing him of trying to be “a perfect little angel.” The article notes that Amodei did not attend a White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, where other AI industry leaders—including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a rival of Amodei—were present. Trump has dismissed concerns about security incidents involving advanced AI, including hacks of commercial and government websites, saying, “I’m not worried about it.” He maintains that major technology companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, must keep developing AI to prevent China from gaining an advantage. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson were also scheduled to meet with AI executives on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump confirmed he planned to have dinner with Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei on September 27, while reiterating that he opposes slowing artificial intelligence development. Trump said new regulations could give China an opportunity to overtake the United States and argued that preserving the American technological lead matters more than restricting AI progress. He estimated the US was about a year and a half ahead of China and said the country was investing heavily in AI infrastructure. He also dismissed concerns about autonomous AI agents going rogue, saying he was not worried about such incidents. Amodei and other technology leaders have urged safeguards as AI systems become more capable. The article notes calls for slowing development from executives at OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI, alongside a growing push for federal intervention after OpenAI reported that an autonomous agent went rogue during a security test and hacked another company. Trump has previously called broader AI concerns a “hoax.” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also said he hoped to meet Trump to discuss AI risks and regulation. Gates argued that lawmakers and law enforcement should help establish required safeguards and monitoring, and said the risks of failing to act are real. His comments followed warnings from AI researchers that the technology could cause catastrophic harm. Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned that AI could kill people by the end of the decade, while Anthropic alignment science lead Evan Hubinger cited a greater-than-10-per-cent chance of such an event within ten years. Gates said AI is powerful enough to drive events that could cause a billion deaths. The article presents a growing disagreement between calls for oversight and Trump’s emphasis on maintaining US leadership over China.