Vice President Tells AI Companies: Don't Build Risky AI, Then Ask for Rules

US Vice President JD Vance dismissed calls for global rules on AI safety at an AI summit in Los Angeles. The remarks were reported Sept. 16 and were aimed at companies building the most powerful AI systems and the bosses asking Washington to limit them. The Guardian

Vance spoke about Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive of Anthropic. "If you're building Frankenstein, stop," Vance said. He added: "If you're gonna create Frankenstein, don't come to the government and say we need regulation." His point was direct. Firms should stop systems they see as uncontrollable instead of building them and asking for state protection.

Amodei had asked Washington, D.C. to work with other governments, including China, to control AI systems. He warned that a swarm of AI agents, like many automatic helpers acting together online, could take over the entire internet in six to 12 months.

Amodei set out his case in a 3,800-word essay urging companies to slow improvement of their most advanced models. The New York Times He called for a worldwide slowdown of artificial intelligence development. He said any slowdown by democratically governed countries should be limited to preserving the lead U.S. firms hold over China. Reuters

Vance rejected that order of steps. He said if the cat is out of the bag, AI firms should build the defensive mechanism. He criticized AI leaders for seeking global regulation while withholding defensive tools. ANI He spoke on the All-In Podcast. On regulation, Vance said: "I feel a little weird." In February 2025, Vance told Europeans that massive regulations on artificial intelligence could strangle the technology. Reuters

The broader context here is a disagreement about who should act. One side says powerful AI crosses borders, so even rivals need shared limits. The other says the U.S. government is the wrong tool and builders carry the duty. It moves his February warning about broad restraint to a direct reply to lab-led calls for joint restraint.

Looking at what this means for diplomacy, the U.S.-China part is hardest. Amodei wants restraint that still keeps the U.S. ahead of China. Vance says builders must supply defenses or not build. That leaves open who decides what is unsafe, who checks defense claims, and what allies or world bodies can do if the leading power will not regulate.