Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has a message for the biggest names in artificial intelligence: stop pretending you're the only adults in the room, and stop writing the rules that keep everyone else out.
In a post on Sunday, DeSantis criticized major AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic for advocating regulations that could potentially stifle competition from smaller companies. He suggested these firms are pushing for a regulatory framework that would prevent smaller competitors from entering the market.
“These companies want a regulatory apparatus that will freeze out smaller companies from competing. Same as it ever was,” he said.
In another post, DeSantis separately warned that if major AI companies run into financial trouble over the next six to 12 months, they could argue that their importance to the economy warrants a government bailout, which he described as a potential "Too Big to Fail" strategy and "bailout 2.0."
“I dont know whether we will see failures in the next 6-12 months, but I do know that *if* that happens and since the AI spend is such a huge aspect of the economy, those companies will claim they need a bailout due to their systemic importance to the economy, etc.” he wrote.
He referred to this, in a subsequent post, as a strategy to become “Too Big to Fail,” leading to a potential “bailout 2.0.”
“This is a play to be Too Big to Fail. Would lead to bailout 2.0. No thanks.”
Burry, Wood Question AI Fear Narrative
DeSantis’ comments come in the wake of similar criticisms from other influential figures. Big short investor Michael Burry, for instance, slammed executives from OpenAI and Anthropic for their calls to slow down AI development, labeling their stance as self-serving.
According to Burry, such calls to slow down primarily benefit incumbent companies and fuel hype for upcoming IPOs. "IPOs need hype & puffery; "we are so awesome it could become dangerous" is hype & puffery," Burry wrote in a post on X.
On Saturday, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood backed former White House AI adviser David Sacks‘ argument that the viral "AI will kill humanity" narrative was amplified through a sequence of social-media posts, policy-group activity and media coverage.
The debate began with former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon’s September 8 resignation post warning about an unchecked race toward self-improving superintelligence, later amplified by Anthropic alignment lead Evan Hubinger’s warning of potential extinction risks.
Palihapitiya questioned on his podcast, “How does an account with no followers get 110 million views in a day?”
In another post, Wood acknowledged that AI misuse and safety risks are real, crediting Elon Musk and others for bringing attention to potential dangers. She argued that recognizing these risks is important for developing solutions, while cautioning against using unsubstantiated concerns to justify broad regulatory measures.
Trump Opposes Slowing US AI Progress
President Donald Trump argued that the U.S. should maintain its AI lead over China rather than slow development or impose heavy regulation.
He said the U.S. is the world’s most sophisticated AI country and said guardrails could be added while dismissing some warnings about potential AI risks as exaggerated.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.
