US speaker rejects AI pause, warns of losing edge to China

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected calls to pause artificial intelligence development, arguing that doing so could give China an advantage over the United States. “We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for every American family.” Johnson also argued that AI companies should largely be left to police themselves. “They can self-regulate. They don’t need the government to tell them to slow it down. If they want to slow it down, they should,” he said.