Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has once again called on the US government to block sales of advanced AI chips to China, in direct opposition to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s push to ease restrictions. In his podcast, Amodei argued that powerful AI chips are a national security chokepoint and should not be treated as normal trade goods.
Amodei said the United States should avoid building data centers in China or exporting high-end AI hardware. He described advanced AI systems as “inherently cognitive, inherently intelligent” and stressed that such capabilities should not be left in the hands of authoritarian governments.
Anthropic CEO positioned AI chips as a critical resource that will function beyond its capabilities as a commercial product. He compared selling Nvidia’s H200 chip to China to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea,” illustrating the dangers he believes arise from U.S.-China AI technology development.
In his podcast, Amodei expressed the belief that the development of similarly powerful AI systems by both countries would create a more unstable situation that nuclear deterrence cannot control. He argued that direct confrontation between AI superpowers increases the chance of miscalculation, as each power believes it can succeed in combat.
He also raised concerns about offensive cyberdomination, suggesting that sufficiently advanced AI could make entire computer systems transparent to one side unless countered with equally strong defenses.
Amodei believes that while artificial intelligence will accelerate economic development, protecting political rights will be even more difficult. He suggested that while developing countries in Africa receive AI infrastructure, the United States should block the export of critical AI technology to authoritarian governments.
