Bessent Says it Is Imperative For The U.S. To Win The AI Race: ‘No Day After Tomorrow If China Wins’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it is imperative for the U.S. to win the AI race against China, claiming "there is no day after tomorrow" if Beijing comes on top.

"If they were to pull away from us on AI, then nothing else would matter," Bessent said during a news event hosted by Breitbart.

President Donald Trump has also issued similar warnings, largely aiming at those seeking to rein in the construction of data centers or slowing the development of AI.

However, state lawmakers are introducing restrictions on data centers at a record pace, a sharp reversal from years of tax breaks and other incentives used to lure the facilities as communities push back over electricity costs, water consumption and noise.

Pennsylvania has imposed some of the toughest requirements so far, with Gov. Josh Shapiro signing an executive order earlier this year requiring developers seeking state permits to make legally binding commitments on energy affordability, environmental protections, workforce development, transparency and community engagement. The Pennsylvania governor's office said projects must also secure local approval before the state Department of Environmental Protection will review their permit applications.

Senator Bernie Sanders also called for an immediate pause on AI development last week, citing the different instances in which models have gone rogue in the past weeks.

"If the leaders of the major AI companies acknowledge that they are losing control of their extremely dangerous technology, it is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced," Sanders said in a social media publication.

To back his point, he cited the top officials of the main AI-related companies in the U.S., who have been open about the dangers of not fully controlling how AI is developed.

In fact, an Anthropic researcher resigned on Tuesday and sounded the alarm about the danger posed by the unguarded advancement of AI research.

In a social media publication that quickly rose to the top of the public debate, Jacob Coxon said that the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

A response from Anthropic alignment-science lead Evan Hubinger also garnered attention, saying Coxon was "correct" in his assessment and people at Anthropic believe "AI could kill all humans!"

"I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to."

In this context, the U.S. and China are set to hold official talks on AI in September. Participants from both countries, as well as the agenda for the meeting, remain under discussion.