Scott Bessent compares AI CEOs who warn of catastrophe to Hannibal Lecter: 'Stop me before I kill again'

• The Treasury Secretary says pro-regulation AI CEOs bring to mind a movie villain.
• "It's kind of like Hannibal Lecter: Stop me before I kill again."
• Bessent says the industry can slow itself down, without government intervention.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had some things to say about pro-regulation tech leaders that might go down better with fava beans and a nice Chianti.

During a Saturday appearance on "The Axios Show," Bessent compared CEOs who want the government to slap guardrails on AI to a reviled cinematic figure.

"I mean, it's kind of like Hannibal Lecter: Stop me before I kill again," Bessent said. "This alarmism without solutions by some of the AI community — that's not leadership."

Bessent invoked "The Silence of the Lambs" serial killer while saying that AI bosses who want Washington to erect guardrails for the tech they are building should slow down development themselves without government intervention.

Bessent's comments are in line with the White House's response to the chorus of AI leaders who last month called for an organized slowdown among AI companies, citing fears that their technology is getting out of control.

Some, like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, asked the US government to step in and regulate the companies.

President Donald Trump brought together AI CEOs for a meeting at the White House that resulted in a voluntary self-policing pledge.

Bessent said that AI companies appear to be taking the White House's advice. He cited OpenAI's recent decision to shelve a new model after internal tests raised questions about whether the AI would follow users' instructions.

"The labs have been very cooperative," he said.

Others in the AI community have warned that the race to dominate the space is sparking a dangerous disregard for safety guardrails.

"You can't do safety from second place," Sarah Heck, Anthropic's head of public policy, said on X last week.

An OpenAI safety leader, David Robinson, publicly announced his resignation on Saturday, saying he believes the company is moving too fast to ensure its models can't wreak havoc on society.