US President Donald Trump has dismissed warnings that artificial intelligence could eventually threaten humanity, calling concerns about an AI-driven catastrophe a “hoax” as governments, technology executives and international organisations debate stronger safeguards.

In a series of posts on Truth Social on Monday, Trump rejected claims that increasingly powerful AI systems could escape human control. He presented strong presidential leadership as the main protection needed against the technology and compared concerns about AI with issues he has previously criticised, including climate change and investigations into Russian interference.

Trump said the United States could not afford to lose the global AI competition to China, which has become a central part of his administration’s technology policy.

His comments came as concerns about the pace of AI development have intensified. Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called on AI companies on Saturday to slow the development of increasingly capable systems. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Elon Musk’s xAI have also raised concerns about the potential risks associated with advanced AI.

Microsoft published a “humanist AI code of conduct” on Monday, saying AI systems should remain under human control and subordinate to people.

Concerns have grown following reports involving experimental AI systems. OpenAI previously said some models had accessed the internet and coordinated actions involving Hugging Face, a platform used to store and share software code. The incidents have contributed to a wider debate over whether increasingly autonomous systems can be reliably controlled.

AI data centres have also become a growing political issue in the United States because of their heavy electricity and water requirements. Opposition to new facilities has increased in some communities, while the expansion of AI infrastructure is expected to remain an important issue ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

Trump criticised opponents of AI and data centres, arguing that excessive regulation could damage American technology companies and weaken the country’s position against China.

China has also increased its focus on AI risks while promoting the technology as a major area of strategic competition. Chen Yixin, China’s minister of state security, said on Sunday that artificial intelligence presented national security risks and could be used by foreign powers to threaten social stability.

Chen described AI as a major battleground in global technological competition and pointed to the advanced capabilities of systems including Anthropic’s Claude Mythos and OpenAI’s ChatGPT-5.5.

International concern is also reaching the United Nations. The UN Security Council is expected to hold a meeting on artificial intelligence next week, while UN human rights chief Volker Türk has urged governments and technology companies to respond urgently to what he described as unprecedented risks.

King Charles III is also expected to host representatives from leading AI companies at a gathering in Scotland.

The growing debate highlights a divide over how governments should respond to rapid AI advances. Supporters of stronger safeguards argue that development must be accompanied by effective oversight, while others, including Trump, warn that excessive restrictions could prevent the United States from maintaining its technological advantage over China.

China will lead efforts to establish an open-source artificial intelligence zone for BRICS countries, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday as leaders of the 11-member group met for a summit in New Delhi.

Xi presented the proposal as part of a broader Chinese initiative aimed at promoting open and inclusive development of artificial intelligence. The plan would support cooperation among BRICS members in developing and applying large language models, while also creating specialised AI research and training programmes.

According to a readout of Xi’s speech released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the initiative is intended to help build an open ecosystem for artificial intelligence.

Open-source AI models make their underlying code available to users, allowing developers and organisations to study, modify and adapt the technology for different applications. Chinese technology companies have increasingly developed prominent open-source models, while many leading US AI companies have generally pursued closed or restricted approaches to their most advanced systems.

Xi said China would work with BRICS partners to strengthen cooperation in AI development and applications. The proposal comes as governments around the world seek greater influence over the rules governing rapidly advancing AI technologies.

The Chinese president also called for the creation of a broad, consensus-based global framework for AI governance. His remarks reflect Beijing’s push for greater international participation in establishing standards for artificial intelligence as the technology becomes increasingly important to economies and national security.

The BRICS group was established in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in international institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers. The group initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining later. Its membership has since expanded to include additional countries.

AI has emerged as an increasingly important area of competition between China and the United States. Both countries are investing heavily in computing infrastructure, research and advanced AI systems, while also debating how the technology should be regulated.

Xi is expected to travel to the United States later this month for talks with President Donald Trump. Artificial intelligence governance could feature in those discussions as concerns increase over the pace of development and the potential risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems.

The proposal for an open-source AI zone could also strengthen technological cooperation among BRICS members by giving researchers and developers greater access to shared models and expertise.

China’s push comes at a time when countries are competing not only to develop advanced AI systems but also to shape the international rules governing their use. Xi’s call for an open ecosystem signals Beijing’s intention to play a central role in that emerging global framework.

Anthropic has reported new cases in which its artificial intelligence models were targeted for cyberattacks, surveillance, propaganda campaigns and potentially dangerous biological research, highlighting growing concerns about the misuse of increasingly capable AI systems.

The company said on Thursday that it had blocked attempts by malicious actors to use its models for harmful activities. Anthropic said advances in AI mean sophisticated cyberattacks can increasingly be carried out with less technical expertise, allowing individuals and small groups to create threats that would have been difficult to execute only a year earlier.

The findings were published in Anthropic’s third report on AI misuse since March 2025. The company said the cases were among the most significant and unusual examples of malicious activity it had identified.

The report included examples of malicious code and prompts detected by Anthropic. The company urged governments and other AI developers to monitor their own systems for similar patterns.

Among the cases was an attempt to use Claude to assist with a grant application involving gain-of-function research on chikungunya virus. The research sought to examine mutations affecting the virus’s transmissibility and ability to evade the immune system.

Anthropic said such research can have legitimate medical purposes, including the development of vaccines and treatments, but could also potentially be used to increase the danger posed by a pathogen.

The company said its older models were considered less capable of meaningfully assisting sophisticated users with dangerous biological research. However, it said the capabilities of newer systems have changed the assessment and made stronger safeguards necessary.

Anthropic has therefore introduced tighter restrictions covering a wider range of biological research queries involving dual-use applications in its newer models.

The company said the incidents identified between December 2025 and August 2026 involved actors including spyware vendors, politically motivated individuals and state-sponsored groups. It also identified nine operations involving hundreds of fake social media accounts created to appear as ordinary users while promoting coordinated political messages.

The campaigns originated in countries including Russia, Iran and Turkey, as well as parts of the Gulf, South Asia, Africa and Europe.

Anthropic said AI systems could provide an early warning because the activity may become visible while an influence campaign is still being developed rather than after material has spread widely online.

The report was released two days after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced his resignation over concerns about the direction of AI development. Coxon accused Anthropic and rival OpenAI of moving rapidly toward self-improving AI systems while failing to adequately address potential risks.

Anthropic said all malicious activities described in its report had been blocked. It said information from the cases had been shared with government authorities and industry partners and used to improve its safeguards.

The company said increasingly capable AI systems require stronger protections from developers, governments and wider society to prevent emerging threats from causing harm.