Treasury chief Scott Bessent opposes pause in AI development, warns China cannot be allowed to lead

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made his clearest case yet against slowing down artificial intelligence development, arguing that any pause would hand a decisive advantage to China. Speaking at a policy discussion hosted by Breitbart News on September 8, Bessent framed AI dominance not as a tech industry talking point but as an existential matter of national defense. “We can’t pause,” Bessent said, because “the Chinese won’t pause. Even the North Koreans, they won’t pause.” The stakes, according to Bessent The Treasury secretary’s argument rests on a simple, uncomfortable premise: if China surpasses the US in AI capabilities, America’s existing military and defense infrastructure becomes functionally obsolete. He referenced Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system as an example of how AI-dependent modern defense has become. “Beating China, there is no day after tomorrow if China wins at this,” Bessent said. If Beijing pulls ahead in AI, “then nothing else matters.” Bessent also offered a notably bullish projection for the US position. He suggested the country could command 80% of global AI compute capacity by 2028, up from roughly 60% in 2025. The chip industry and access to p...