\ufeff<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent\u00a0compared artificial intelligence executives who are calling for government regulation \u2014 while they publicly worry about the technology going rogue and erasing humans \u2014 to serial killers who are begging to be locked up.<\/p>\n
Bessent said it didn\u2019t make much sense to him during a Saturday interview with Axios. When Axios co-founder Mike Allen asked if he felt the doomsday fears about AI were \u201cBS,\u201d Bessent busted out a reference to one the most famous sickos in movie history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that we have to be prepared for every occasion,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cBut on the other side, I think this alarmism without solutions by some of the AI community, that\u2019s not leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen jumped in and said, \u201cWell and it\u2019s not just some in the community, it\u2019s the CEOs [who] are basically screaming for regulation, warning of losing control of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, then they should slow down,\u201d Bessent said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like Hannibal Lecter: stop me before I kill again.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re unfamiliar, Lecter is the cannibalistic killer who was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in his Oscar-winning 1991 performance in The Silence of the Lambs<\/a>. Lecter \u2014 who was created by novelist Thomas Harris \u2014 was also portrayed by Succession star Brian Cox in the 1986 flick Manhunter. There have been a number of other movies to include Lecter since then.<\/p>\n Bessent\u2019s interview comes as AI regulation has been a hot topic over the last month. Anthropic boss Dario Amodei warned in September\u00a0\u201cwe must slow down the pace\u201d<\/a> of AI development to make sure it doesn\u2019t go rogue and hurt humans. Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman \u2014 two rivals who rarely agree on anything in public \u2014 quickly endorsed<\/a>\u00a0his take.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump went the other way and\u00a0scoffed at the doomsday fears about AI, saying they are nothing more than a \u201cHOAX.\u201d <\/a>He has said he\u2019s not even a big fan of the term \u201cartificial intelligence\u201d \u2014 instead opting to call it\u00a0\u201csuper intelligence.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The president vowed he will not burden AI companies with new regulations, arguing it is imperative American companies stay ahead of China in the AI race; he said the best defense against AI going off the rails was having a\u00a0a \u201cSTRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT\u201d<\/a>\u00a0like himself in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n Trump held a White House summit on Tuesday featuring a number of the top AI and tech execs. The president told reporters afterward he is depending on the AI companies to keep up their\u00a0\u201ctremendous self-policing,\u201d<\/a> rather than throw new regulations at them.<\/p>\n Watch above via Axios.<\/p>\n