Trump’s former AI czar says fears of an AI apocalypse are a ‘hoax’
Trump's former AI czar, who chairs the president's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, has dismissed fears of an AI-driven apocalypse as a hoax. He also backed former FTC chair Lina Khan's position that existing liability laws are sufficient to handle core AI safety concerns.
Why this matters: When a senior White House AI adviser says existential AI risk is a hoax, it shapes what the government decides to regulate and what it ignores. That is a policy stance with real consequences. The interesting wrinkle here is the agreement with Lina Khan, a progressive who rarely finds common ground with this administration. Both are pointing at liability law as the right tool. That matters because liability law is reactive — it kicks in after harm happens, to someone specific, who has to sue. If AI causes diffuse or hard-to-trace harm, the legal system may not catch it. Calling the risk a hoax does not make accountability easier. It just removes the pressure to build it in advance.
Who should care: General readers · AI governance · Policy
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