‘If you’re building Frankenstein, stop’: JD Vance dismisses calls for AI regulation

US vice-president’s comments come as former Anthropic researcher revisits recent claim AI could destroy humanity

The US vice-president has dismissed calls for global regulation of AI safety risks, telling companies creating the most advanced models: “If you’re building Frankenstein, stop.”

In remarks addressed towards Dario Amodei, the co-founder of Anthropic who has called on Washington DC to coordinate control of AI systems, including with China, JD Vance said: “If you’re gonna create Frankenstein, don’t come to the government and say we need regulation.”

He said tech bosses should instead: “Look inward and accept that if you’re building Frankenstein, No 1, you should stop and No 2, when companies come to you and say: ‘We need the tools to fight back against Frankenstein,’ give them those tools.”

Vance was speaking at an AI summit in Los Angeles after a week of rising global concern at the risks to humanity posed by the prospect of the creation of an artificial superintelligence, a technology that does not yet exist.