Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned that the rapid development of artificial intelligence poses serious and potentially catastrophic risks while urging the U.S. to establish safeguards without falling behind China.
Cruz Pushes AI Guardrails
On Wednesday, in a post on X, Cruz said AI was advancing at an “extraordinary pace” and warned that some of its potential risks were “dangerous and frightening.”
“I’ve been on the forefront of this issue in the Senate,” he said, pointing to the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which he described as “the only legislation Congress has enacted restricting AI” to protect victims from AI-generated deepfakes.
Cruz also said he was working with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) on legislation addressing “catastrophic risks involving biological or nuclear threats.”
“We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend this technology isn’t happening,” he said. “We need guardrails. But America needs to lead”
Cruz added, “If China leads the world in AI, the whole world is in trouble.”
Lawmakers Urge AI Oversight
Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned that Big Tech billionaires had too much influence over AI and urged Congress to ensure public oversight of its impact on the economy, democracy and privacy.
Last month, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called for quick action on AI’s economic and national security risks while keeping the U.S. competitive and protecting jobs.
US-China AI Race Intensified
On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. could not afford to slow its AI race with China.
“We can’t pause,” Bessent said. “You can’t, because the Chinese won’t pause.”
In August, Elon Musk said China was “by far” the strongest competitor in AI.
He had previously predicted that China would eventually become Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) most important rival in rocket technology.
Meanwhile, Chinese AI models accounted for a record 58% of tokens processed by U.S. firms on OpenRouter, up from less than 10% at the start of 2025.
The share briefly reached 63% in early July as developers increasingly adopted models from companies such as DeepSeek.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
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