Global AI stocks under pressure as safety fears erupt
Global AI stocks under pressure as safety fears erupt. ByPeter HoskinsBusiness reporterPublished15 September 2026, 04:47 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoUS President Donald Trump has said fears about the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) are a "hoax", as he criticised calls to have more guardrails in place for the fast-moving technology.
What happened
In a series of social media posts, the US president compared warnings about AI to the "Global Warming Scam" which, he said, was "being perpetrated by the Radical Left Dumocrats". Trump also called himself "the Hoax Buster", likening concerns about the safety of the technology to what he called "the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX". "They know that China has become a strong competitor in AI, and worry that if the US slows down development or tightens regulation, China could catch up even faster," Xin Qiang, a professor of American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times.
It is also opposed by leading figures in the AI sector, who have in recent days issued stark safety warnings and made the case for government regulation. In the US, however, new safety legislation on AI is unlikely anytime soon. "Congress should not leave town until something is done decisively to protect the safety and the wellbeing of the American people," Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Monday. "He said Trump would hold a meeting at the White House soon with AI executives to discuss "the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety and what role, if any, the government has to play in that".
The wider picture
No consensus and competing billsWhile Democrats are pushing for more time to address AI safety, they are themselves divided on how best to regulate AI. And there are numerous legislative proposals already on Capitol Hill that are designed to address AI safety, ranging from independent reviews, to a federal "kill switch", to a total moratorium on data centres proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders. Calls for self-regulationSome leading Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, have often referred to "self-regulation" when discussing government action and called on the companies to take responsibility for AI safety.
"You might want an act of Congress, and I would love a congressionally mandated regime that requires safety and testing and bias testing," said Asad Ramzanali, the director of AI & Technology Policy at Vanderbilt University. South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi slides as Wall Street is set to open lower Figure caption, Watch: "Great" or "alarming" – Should AI be reined in? It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry.
Clark's comments followed warnings about the risks the technology poses to humanity that have been raised in recent days by several executives and staff at leading AI firms.
What has been reported
Those concerns triggered a selloff in tech firms' shares as investors weighed the impact of a potential slowdown in the multi-billion dollar development of AI. The only "guardrails" needed for AI was a "strong and smart" president, said Trump. In another post he wrote: "There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. "Chinese state media said experts had warned that "Washington's growing anxiety over China's rapid AI development appears to be increasingly distorting its policy priorities".
Clark, who is one of Anthropic's seven founders, said earlier on Monday that a way of shutting off AI software completely if it gets too dangerous was something society "might want to eventually pass rules around". He added that "most labs have different ways of being able to pull the plug", including Anthropic, but said lawmakers may need to enforce having one. UK Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said on Tuesday that people should "never be complacent" about the impact AI might have but added: "We've got to be careful not to get hyperbolic about this either.
"Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Of course there are risks but, let's be frank, there are some tremendous upsides, whether it's public services, healthcare, the contribution to the economy.
What happens next
"Figure caption, AI "more powerful by the day", Anthropic co-founder tells BBCA growing number of tech industry and political figures are calling for better safeguards, most recently Microsoft AI which this week discussed limiting the models it is developing in a document on what it called "humanist AI". Microsoft AI's chief executive Mustafa Suleyman told business news channel CNBC that it had been working on the new guidance for months and had decided to publish it now due to the current debate around the technology.
In an indication of how concerns over the technology have been thrust into the spotlight, two high-profile figures on opposite sides of US politics are set to appear at the same event calling for a re-evaluation of AI policy. Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and veteran progressive Senator Bernie Sanders are due to speak at the "Pro-Human Assembly" in Washington on Tuesday. According to its website the gathering "aims to define a shared vision and articulate a better, more human-centric path for AI development".
Image source, ReutersSanders told BBC's Newsnight last week that "we have got to do something immediately to stop the uncontrolled growth of AI". "You've got the existential threat of the possibility of humanity being wiped out," he said.
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.