DOMINANT ANGLE
Islamabad is more focused on the lead over China that Trump is hammering out in capitals on Truth Social, than on the debate over the risks of artificial intelligence itself.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump writes on Truth Social that the only necessary safeguard is "a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT", and hammers home "WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China".
- 02
Dario Amodei (Anthropic) called on Saturday, September 12, to slow down AI development, joined by Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Elon Musk (xAI); Trump accuses him of "pretending to be a 'perfect little angel'".
- 03
According to ARY News/Reuters, AI leaders are funding the midterm campaign before the November 3 election, Musk's "super PAC", America PAC, having already spent millions on Republican candidates.
ANALYSIS
Islamabad, Tuesday, September 15, 2026. The Pakistani press, via AFP and Reuters dispatches, relays the series of messages posted Monday by Donald Trump on his Truth Social network, where the American president describes the idea of artificial intelligence "destroying humanity" as a "hoax" and calls for slowing down the technology a "sick conspiracy". ARY News quotes his phrase: "The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" The president associates this with the competition with Beijing: "WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others."
Geo News notes that Trump compares these alerts to "other hoaxes" he claims to have suffered, including the Russian investigation and his impeachment over Ukraine during his first term, and that he specifically targets the head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, who had called on Saturday to "slow down the pace" of development, joined by Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Elon Musk (xAI). The president accuses him of playing a double game, saying he "is now pretending to be a 'perfect little angel'". According to Geo News, Trump also targets Google, which he presses to review its $15 billion investment project in Finland.
ARY News, citing Reuters, reports on Trump's comments made on Sunday from his golf course in Ireland, where he attributes the fears to "very negative forces" evoking scenarios that "will not happen", while conceding that safeguards remain possible: "We could put guardrails." The media outlet emphasizes that AI leaders are funding the midterm campaign before the November 3 election, with Musk's "super PAC", America PAC, having already spent millions in favor of Republican candidates, and that the Pentagon warned this year about the risks posed by an Anthropic model.
Business Recorder finally reports on the resignation of researcher Jacob Coxon, who accuses his former employers OpenAI and Anthropic of "gambling with our lives", the direct trigger for Amodei's call on Saturday to slow down the race.
Of the four titles consulted, none devotes specific development to the repercussions for Pakistan or South Asia; the retained thread remains that of an American-Chinese rivalry and an internal debate in Washington, between a cautious Republican Senate and Democrats in favor of slowing down, rather than that of a universal technological risk.
