Trump adviser Sacks says AI fears driven by 'fear-mongering playbook'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's outside tech adviser David Sacks on Wednesday argued that public concerns about AI are being driven by advocacy campaigns and media coverage, echoing Trump's comments earlier this week dismissing calls for new AI regulation.

"We've seen this playbook, this fear-mongering playbook, over and over again," Sacks said, referring to concerns about AI's impact on U.S. society.

Public alarm about the potential danger posed by AI is growing, after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said last week he had resigned, in part because the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Sacks, a venture capitalist who appeared by video at a Politico event in Washington, said AI developers should be responsible for ensuring the safety of their products and would be held "liable" if problems arise. New regulation is not needed, he added.

Trump on Monday brushed aside calls for new federal AI rules, saying the United States needs only a strong president, which the country has "in spades." He said calls from AI executives for federal regulation of the technology are a "hoax."

Trump often uses the term "hoax" to describe claims and reports he disputes. The statements from Sacks on Wednesday and Trump earlier in the week appear to mirror that strategy.

Sacks is co-chair of president's tech advisory board, a group made up of industry executives and venture capitalists.