Chip Roy Breaks With Trump On AI, Says Americans ‘Are Right To Be Concerned’

Republican Texas Congressman Chip Roy spoke out in favor of increased guardrails on Artificial Intelligence (AI), calling for a human-led approach to the emerging technology and breaking with President Donald Trump.

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Speaking at the Pro-Human Assembly, a conference centered around artificial intelligence organized by the Future of Life Institute, Roy said, “We have to sit in committees and bring people in to have discussions about how we’re going to structure our lives and build a human-first environment.”

“We, the people, have to decide how we want to structure our lives,” Roy added.

“AI has enormous potential to improve our world, but the American people are right to be concerned about very real risks it poses if we are not careful — from navigating demands on our energy and water resources, to its impact on job security, the dangers it may pose to our children and to our national security,” the Congressman told the Daily Caller.

Trump, on the other hand, has maintained that the United States is in a race with China for AI dominance, calling concerns over the technology a ruse, saying in part, “AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX.” (RELATED: Trump Opposed Placing Guardrails On AI Amid Tech Industry’s Fears. Here’s What Lawmakers Had To Say)

The Congressman touched on the President’s dismissal of AI concerns, telling the Caller, “The President is also right to be skeptical when large technology companies suddenly come to Washington asking to be regulated. Government is rarely the answer to our problems. Innovation is. The President, Congress, industry, and, most importantly, the American people must come together to confront these unique challenges and ensure that technology remains a tool that serves us, not one that turns us into tools of technology.”

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Over the weekend, a slew of AI executives called for more guardrails on the technology, paired with dire warnings about its potential to harm humanity. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, penned an essay released Saturday titled “We Must Pace the Frontier,” where he called for the industry to “slow down.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Dario’s essay, voicing his agreement. SpaceXAI CEO and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk chimed in as well, responding simply to Amodei’s essay, saying “Dario is right.” (RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries Demands Urgent Action On AI; John Thune Calls For ‘Light Touch’)

Moreover, polling indicates that Americans have not quite warmed up to the technology as quickly as the President has. Half of U.S. adults say that the increased use of AI is more concerning than exciting, according to a June Pew Research Center poll.

Americans also seem to agree with Roy on regulations, with a Johns Hopkins University poll conducted in April and May of this year finding that over 70 percent of Americans support legal restrictions on AI across a myriad of sectors, including medical care, legal proceedings, and government services.

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