What To Know
- Jimmy Fallon doubted that Donald Trump can keep artificial intelligence under control.
- Fallon joked about Trump’s self-proclaimed intelligence and past cognitive test boasts.
- The segment comes amid serious concerns in the tech industry about AI’s risk to humanity.
Jimmy Fallon poked fun at Donald Trump on Monday night (September 14) after the president promised he would keep the threat of artificial intelligence “under control.”
During the opening monologue on Monday’s The Tonight Show, Fallon highlighted Trump’s Truth Social post, in which he wrote the only “guardrails” AI needs are a “strong and smart (High IQ!) president, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”
“Well, I feel better,” Fallon quipped before mocking Trump’s previous brags about “acing” his cognitive tests. “Trump was like, ‘I’d like to see ChatGPT pick out a zebra on a cognitive test. I don’t think so, buddy.’”
He added, “We’re relying on Trump to beat AI; I don’t even think Trump can beat Wordle.”
Fallon went on to joke that Trump’s handling of the situation means he’s probably going to “change the name from ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘American Intelligence,’” referencing the president’s obsession with renaming landmarks, such as the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
“Keep in mind, up until a week ago, Trump thought AI stood for American Idol,” he continued before breaking into his Trump impersonation. “‘I’ve spoken with Ryan Seacrest, and we’re perfectly safe.’”
Fallon then mocked the president’s habit of posting AI-generated images on social media, saying, “Trump’s not eager to stop something that lets him make photos of himself as Jesus riding a bald eagle.”
“Yep, Trump’s said that concerns about AI have been exaggerated by ‘very negative forces,’” he continued. “And then he announced plans to fight those forces with a new military branch called, ‘The Very Negative Force Force.’”
The latest debate about AI came after ex-Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced his exit from the company last week, while suggesting the technology could wipe out humanity by the end of the decade.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded to the concerns in a 4,000-word essay, writing, “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”
Amodei’s post received support from fellow AI business owners, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind co-founder Dennis Hassabis, and SpaceXAI founder Elon Musk.
You can watch Fallon’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, NBC