Hi friends,
(This post does not address data centers.)
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping just finished three days of meetings in Washington. Artificial intelligence was one of the subjects they discussed.
The result was fairly simple. The United States and China agreed to keep talking about AI and to create a direct communication channel for serious AI incidents.
They did not agree to stop or slow AI development. They did not agree to ban advanced AI or place it under control of the United Nations or any international organization.
Thank goodness!
A direct line between two powerful countries could help prevent a cyberattack, computer failure, or false warning from turning into a larger issue. Talking about real emergencies is sensible. Giving other countries control over American technology (or anything) would be foolish.
AI is necessary and beneficial. Its practical risks deserve safeguards, and proposed controls must be carefully considered for their effects on competition, freedom, national security, and American sovereignty.
AI Is Not a Living Creature
AI is not a person. It has no conscience, morals, political beliefs, or secret desire to rule the world.
It is technology built and directed by people.
AI can help doctors find disease, help scientists develop treatments, strengthen cybersecurity, improve factories, assist small businesses, and make information readily available and easier to understand. It can help our military and intelligence agencies find threats more quickly.
I use AI regularly for research, fact-checking, writing, organization, and finding information that would otherwise take hours or days to locate - or be completely impossible to locate.
This technology is too important to national security - and too useful - for America to abandon it. China, Russia, Iran, and other countries will not stop developing AI just because we do. A ‘world-wide’ agreement would be a joke.
The Real Dangers Are Human Dangers
As with any tool, or technology, AI can certainly be used badly. It can be used for fraud, surveillance, censorship, cyberattacks, weapons, political manipulation, and careless decisions that affect people’s lives.
Some powerful AI agents have also done unexpected things when given access to the internet and other tools. That is a warning, like the low tire light in your car, not the tornado siren. As with other industries, auto factories for example, developers and others must provide safeguards, testing, and human supervision.
But that is very different from saying AI is becoming an evil creature that will decide to wipe out humanity.
We should deal with real risks, not treat every science fiction scenario seriously.
Fear Is Also a Tool
During the past few weeks, we have heard a sudden wave of warnings that AI could take over the world or destroy the human race.
Some of the people making those warnings may sincerely believe them.
But there is also an organized campaign involving advocacy groups, corporations, proposed laws, media appearances, and meetings with lawmakers in several countries.
Why would companies that spent billions of dollars building AI suddenly ask government to place more limits on it?
Who would expensive and strict regulations help, and who would it harm? Businesses who are early in the game, or newer and more innovative smaller companies?
Would the biggest companies help write the rules that govern their competitors?
Who would decide which companies and experts are approved? Don’t we see enough of this type of thing?
Fear can be used to rush people into accepting things they would normally question. If people believe AI could kill everyone, almost any law can be called necessary and anyone who objects can be called irresponsible.
But “everyone could die” should not become a blank check for government power.
A Worldwide Ban Would Not Stop the World
Some groups want countries to ban the development of extremely advanced AI.
That may sound good when someone spouts it, but there is an obvious problem - countries that break other rules and agreements would also break AI rules.
Governments that steal technology, hide military programs, avoid sanctions, and mislead inspectors will not give up one of the world’s most valuable technologies because they signed an agreement.
America could follow the rules in public while any other country continued working in secret.
Nuclear programs require special materials, large buildings, reactors, centrifuges, and missiles—and international agreements still have not stopped every country determined to develop nuclear weapons.
AI could be even harder to monitor. Research can be spread among universities, companies, military laboratories, computer networks, and hidden facilities.
A worldwide ban would end up holding back the countries that obey rules while rewarding the countries that do not.
Common Sense Instead of Panic
We do not have to choose between ignoring every danger and allowing government to control the entire technology.
AI must not become an excuse for government or agencies to control innovation, speech, or political thought. We should regulate harmful conduct and high-risk uses, not hand a few corporations or an international authority control over the entire technology.
If a company breaks copyright law, enables fraud, carelessly releases a dangerous product, or causes measurable harm, the responsible people and the company should answer for it.
“The computer did it” cannot become an excuse.
America needs AI for medical research, scientific progress, economic growth, cybersecurity, and national defense.
We should move forward confidently and with common sense. We should deal with real dangers without frightening ourselves into giving away America’s future.
We need common sense, human responsibility, and American leadership—not fear.
Sources:
Trump–Xi summit
Official Chinese readout confirming an AI dialogue and a direct communication channel for serious AI incidents:
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xw/zyxw/202609/t20260926_12031663.htmlAmerica’s AI Action Plan
The strongest source for AI’s economic, scientific, national-security, and strategic importance:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdfNIST AI Risk Management Framework
Supports managing actual risks while allowing beneficial AI development:
https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-frameworkAnthropic’s investigation of AI-agent incidents
Primary evidence that capable agents can cause serious problems when given tools, network access, and inadequate safeguards:
https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evalsControlAI’s congressional and political work
The organization’s own description of its campaign and outreach—not an opponent’s characterization:
https://controlai.org/our-work-in-usProposed ban on artificial superintelligence
Official Sanders–Casar announcement showing that broad restrictions and a development pause are being seriously proposed:
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-casar-introduce-legislation-to-ban-artificial-superintelligence-and-temporarily-pause-advanced-ai-development/Dario Amodei’s proposal to slow frontier AI
The Anthropic CEO’s own argument for slowing development, outside evaluation, international coordination, and shared governance:
https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier
As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.
White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)
United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.
VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html
Disclaimer:
As always, do your own research and make up your own mind. This Substack is provided for informational and commentary purposes only. All claims or statements are based on publicly available sources and are presented as analysis and opinion, not legal conclusions.
No assertion is made of unlawful conduct by any individual, company, or government entity unless such claims are supported by formal public records or verified legal documents. The views expressed here reflect my personal perspective on property rights and land use issues.
While I strive for accuracy and transparency, readers are encouraged to verify all details using the official sources and references provided. Any references to third-party material are included solely for your consideration and do not necessarily reflect my views or imply endorsement.
If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.
Until next time…
Please share your thoughts in the comments. Or email me, and let’s have a problem-solving conversation. I welcome ‘letters to the editor’ type emails and may publish yours. I hope we can create a caucus with positive, back-to-the-founders’-dream-for-America results. Have a topic you want to know more about?
Some housekeeping…
Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.
You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.
Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!