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President Donald Trump on Monday sharply rejected mounting warnings that artificial intelligence could eventually threaten humanity, calling such concerns a “HOAX” as some of the technology industry’s most prominent executives push for slowing the development of increasingly powerful AI systems.

Trump addressed the issue in an afternoon Truth Social post, questioning why executives running some of the world’s leading AI companies would advocate restrictions that, in his view, could damage their own businesses and weaken the United States in its technological competition with China.

“When, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an Industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion and bankruptcy?” Trump wrote.

The president compared warnings that AI could ultimately pose an existential danger to humanity to other controversies that he has repeatedly characterized as hoaxes, including the investigations involving Russia and his two impeachments.

Trump’s comments came as several major figures in the AI industry publicly called for greater caution in the race to develop more advanced models. The debate intensified over the weekend after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a lengthy proposal urging the industry to deliberately moderate the speed at which frontier AI capabilities are advancing.

Amodei argued Saturday that AI capabilities are developing so rapidly that safety research may not be keeping pace. His proposal called for slowing the advancement of the most powerful models sufficiently to give researchers and companies more time to understand and address potential dangers.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk subsequently expressed support for the broader push for additional safeguards, while Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis also backed greater caution surrounding the development of increasingly capable AI.

Among the dangers identified by Amodei are the possibility of humans losing control of highly advanced AI systems, the technology being misused for cyberattacks or bioterrorism, and widespread economic disruption. He has also raised concerns about increasingly capable AI systems being used to develop subsequent generations of AI.

As part of his proposed approach, Amodei called for independent evaluators to receive greater access to frontier AI systems and development processes, allowing outsiders to assess whether companies are adhering to their safety commitments.

Trump has taken a markedly different approach to the emerging debate, repeatedly emphasizing that AI development is an international technological race in which the United States cannot afford to fall behind China.

“AI, and Data Centers, will be the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History — Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet,” Trump wrote.

Trump also took aim at Google over its recently announced expansion in Finland, arguing that permitting difficulties in the United States were pushing the company to invest overseas. He said he wanted Google to “change their thinking.”

Google announced last week that it intends to invest at least €13 billion — approximately $15 billion — in Finnish digital infrastructure, energy projects and related partnerships during 2027 and 2028. The investment, Google’s largest single investment in Europe, includes new data-center infrastructure.

Google said the expansion builds upon more than 15 years of operations in Finland and is intended to accommodate increasing demand for services including Gemini, Search and Maps, as well as other Google services.

The company’s announcement did not say that difficulties securing permits in the United States were responsible for its decision to expand in Finland. Instead, Google cited Finland’s digital infrastructure, energy system, workforce and its existing operations in the country.

Earlier Monday, Trump described opposition to AI development and the construction of data centers as a “sick conspiracy,” contending that excessive regulation of the rapidly developing industry could ultimately strengthen China’s position in the global AI competition.

“WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!” Trump wrote.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is leading a coalition of cities and counties in a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking to block a new immigration policy that would make it easier for federal officials to deny green cards and certain visas to immigrants who receive government assistance.

The lawsuit puts Mamdani directly at odds with President Donald Trump over the administration’s new “public charge” rule, which is scheduled to take effect Friday, September 18. The rule broadens the types of public benefits immigration officials can consider when deciding whether certain immigrants should be permitted to obtain permanent residency in the United States.

Mamdani made clear in announcing the lawsuit that his administration wants immigrants in New York to continue using government programs for which they are legally eligible without fearing that doing so could jeopardize their immigration status.

“The new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades. New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to. That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani continued: “New York City is proud to lead a coalition of cities and counties — Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King County and the Public Rights Project — standing firmly against this cruel and unlawful rule. Our immigrant communities are not a burden. They are the people who make New York City and country great. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they can continue to live here with dignity and without fear.”

The New York City lawsuit is separate from another legal challenge filed Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James. James is leading a coalition consisting of 22 states and the District of Columbia seeking to stop the same Trump administration policy.

At issue is the federal government’s “public charge” test. Immigration law has long allowed officials to consider whether certain immigrants seeking admission or permanent residency are likely to become dependent on government assistance. The Trump administration’s new rule gives immigration officers broader discretion to consider an applicant’s use of means-tested benefits, including assistance involving food, health care and housing.

The policy represents a significant departure from the narrower approach put in place during the Biden administration. Under the 2022 policy, the public-charge determination generally focused on direct cash assistance and long-term institutional care rather than programs such as Medicaid and food assistance. President Trump’s administration rescinded that approach and moved to expand the benefits that may be considered.

The Trump administration says the policy is intended to enforce the principle that immigrants seeking permanent status should be self-sufficient and should not depend on American taxpayers for their support. The Department of Homeland Security responded to Monday’s lawsuits by accusing “sanctuary states” and “left-wing leaders” of fighting the policy because they fear losing federal funding as noncitizens withdraw from public-assistance programs.

Mamdani’s administration is taking the opposite position. Its lawsuit argues that immigrants who are legally eligible for government assistance should not have to choose between using those programs and protecting their prospects of remaining permanently in the United States.

The city also argues that the policy could have consequences extending beyond the immigrants directly subject to public-charge determinations. City officials contend that confusion and fear surrounding the rule could prompt immigrants and members of mixed-status families to avoid medical care, food assistance and other benefits even when those benefits would not affect their immigration cases.

New York City officials further maintain that the policy could ultimately cost local governments money. If immigrants avoid preventive health programs and other federally supported benefits, the city argues, more of the financial burden could shift to hospitals, emergency services and local government.

The separate lawsuit brought by James and the states raises similar arguments, including the claim that the Trump administration has exceeded its authority under federal immigration law and violated federal administrative law in implementing the expanded policy.

James said families should not have to sacrifice assistance for which they qualify because they fear immigration consequences.

“Working families should not be forced to go without the support they need because they fear that seeking assistance will lead to their deportation. This rule exploits that fear and causes families to forgo food assistance, healthcare services, and other public benefits to which they are legally entitled,” James said.

The legal fight therefore goes beyond the technical definition of a “public charge.” The Trump administration is seeking greater latitude to consider immigrants’ reliance on government assistance when determining whether they should receive permanent status, while Mamdani and the governments joining his lawsuit are seeking to preserve immigrants’ ability to use legally available public benefits without those benefits broadly counting against their immigration applications.

Both lawsuits were filed in federal court in Manhattan. Unless the courts intervene, the Trump administration’s new public-charge policy is scheduled to take effect on September 18.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu warned Hezbollah on Monday that any renewed attack on Israel would trigger an even more powerful Israeli response, issuing the message after the IDF completed its takeover of the Ali al-Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon and destroyed major Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.

Netanyahu pointed to the operation on the Ali al-Taher and Beaufort ridges as another significant Israeli success against the terror organization.

“We have achieved another massive victory over Hezbollah: We have destroyed its major terrorist stronghold on the Beaufort Ridge and the Ali al-Taher Ridge,” Netanyahu opened.

Netanyahu said Israel has no intention of easing its campaign against Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon and would continue acting against threats emerging from the area.

The Prime Minister declared, “Our policy is clear: We will continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the security zone in Lebanon. We will continue to remove any threat to the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu then directed an explicit warning at Hezbollah and Israel’s other enemies, saying that another attack would result in a still harsher Israeli military response.

“And from here, I say to our enemies: If you haven’t learned the lesson by now, and you choose to attack us again, you will suffer even heavier blows. There is still work to complete, and with G-d’s help, we will complete it,” he concluded.