Technology and Science · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Mike Johnson Rejects AI Moratorium, Says China Will Surpass the U.S.
Johnson rejects AI moratorium, arguing delaying development risks letting China surpass the United States. Johnson calls for a meeting with AI industry leaders to discuss safeguards.
Whether Congress should impose an AI moratorium.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: coxon backs labs regulating themselves pending long-term rules.
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CNN
“Louisiana Republican on Sunday resisted those calls, instead saying industry leaders should meet with lawmakers to find “balance””Read the original ↗
NPR
“House Speaker Mike Johnson said there should not be a moratorium on the technology because "China will overlap us."”Read the original ↗
GOP outlets reject moratoriums; framing shifts to competition and voluntary safeguards.
Johnson rejects moratorium
House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected an emergency moratorium on artificial intelligence development, warning that slowing American innovation could allow China to pull ahead as tech executives and lawmakers intensify calls for new AI safety measures.
“We cannot impose a moratorium because China will surpass us in numbers, and that is the challenge”
Johnson told CNN’s “State of the Union” that “We cannot impose a moratorium because China will surpass us in numbers, and that is the challenge,” and he said it is about balancing national security with “the immediate security of ensuring that the models are safe.”C
The debate accelerated after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing the development of increasingly capable AI models, with support from xAI CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
President Donald Trump also weighed in during his official visit to Ireland, saying, “We are leading China in artificial intelligence. We are the most advanced country in the world and, frankly, I want it to stay that way, because whoever wins in AI, wins.”
Calls for guardrails
Johnson said he wants the leaders and providers of AI platforms to meet with lawmakers to find “the right balance,” arguing, “We have to resist Congress jumping in and imposing some sort of emergency moratorium.”
Amy Kremer, a Republican National Committee member and Humans First chairwoman, told Fox News Digital that “We need guardrails that protect Americans while allowing American innovation to lead the world,” and she said Congress should preserve state and local authority over AI data-center infrastructure.
Kremer also said Humans First opposes blanket data-center moratoriums while calling for local control and rejecting eminent domain, adding that “The people who live with these projects should have a voice in whether and where they’re built.”
In parallel, OpenAI’s head of Global Affairs Chris Lehane argued that “The prospect of AI development accelerated by AI itself requires more than voluntary commitments,” urging Congress to move forward with mandatory regulatory standards before the end of its session in December.
Legislation and risks
Beyond the moratorium debate, lawmakers and corporate leaders are converging on specific mechanisms, including the AI Shutdown Switch Act (AI Kill Switch Act) introduced by California Democrat Ted Lieu and Texas Republican Nathaniel Moran.
“Stopping the inference of a targeted technology”
The bill would amend the 2002 National Security Act to establish human controls over certain AI systems, requiring covered companies to maintain a “technical capability” enabling mitigation measures such as “Stopping the inference of a targeted technology” and “Turning off the technology in the most severe scenario.”
The proposal would give authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security, currently Markwayne Mullin, via the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Nick Andersen, and it defines “incidents reached” to include “Unintended behavior of the technology causing at least 10 deaths or at least $100,000,000 in economic damages.”
As the political fight intensifies ahead of the midterms, US House Democrats urged Mike Johnson to cancel a recess and keep Congress in Washington until lawmakers take action on AI safeguards, citing warnings from Anthropic researchers that advanced AI could pose an existential threat to humanity within the next decade.