US tech leaders fear China overtaking AI as much as superintelligence

President Donald Trump rejected calls to slow US artificial intelligence development this week, citing the need to maintain a lead over China, which he said is essential because "whoever wins AI, wins." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and other Silicon Valley leaders have warned that China surpassing the US in AI poses a threat as severe as superintelligence destroying humanity. Amodei has advocated for export controls on chips to Beijing while urging aggressive US advancement, arguing China could achieve geopolitical dominance if it defects from safety agreements. The industry's China focus has created unusual alliances among AI safety advocates, techno-militarists and neoconservatives, with companies hiring former government officials to shape policy. Chinese officials view these safety talks skeptically, seeing them as veiled attempts to suppress their growth, while domestic US backlash over AI risks may force lawmakers to act regardless of global competition concerns.