Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang told CBS News he disagrees with recent warnings from artificial intelligence researchers that the technology could lead to humanity’s extinction within a few years, calling such statements overblown “doomsday narratives.”
“2030 is not going to be the end of the world. There is 0% chance that’s going to be the end of the world,” Huang told CBS News senior business and technology correspondent Jo Ling Kent ON Friday. “Scaring people is unnecessary. It is irresponsible.”
Huang was responding to claims on social media by former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon earlier this month that AI developers “earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Coxon’s remarks sparked heated public debate about the risks posed by AI, as well as calls by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other leading industry figures to slow development of the technology.
But Huang said he rejects such predictions because they are “not grounded in science.”
Nvidia has a substantial stake in the debate, given that its specialized chips power the large language models (or LLMs) by which artificial intelligence agents, created by OpenAI and others, access and synthesize information. Demand for those chips has boosted Nvidia’s market value to $5.3 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable company.
Asked why Americans should trust him on AI safety, given his company’s incentives, Huang told CBS News that it’s in Nvidia’s best interest to ensure the industry builds its products responsibly.
“Our company’s success is directly connected to the safe deployment of products and services,” he said. “If we don’t continue to do that, our value would be diminished.”
No need for AI rules?
Several recent security breaches have spurred calls for AI regulation, including a July incident in which OpenAI bots went rogue and hacked the AI company Hugging Face. On Thursday, OpenAI also disclosed six additional incidents it described as “unexpected or concerning” behavior involving its AI models, prompting some lawmakers to call for tighter oversight of AI developers.
Huang dismissed the need for new regulations, saying that existing U.S. laws governing product liability and unauthorized entry are sufficient. He added that he agrees with President Trump’s view that the AI industry doesn’t need additional guardrails.
“You have all kinds of liabilities associated with cybersecurity” and damage liability laws, Huang said. “Apply that first — don’t let this doomsday narrative allow someone to relieve them of the laws that currently exist.”
Competing with China
In pushing back against calls for a freeze in developing frontier AI models, Mr. Trump has warned that such a slowdown could give China an edge as the world’s two biggest economies compete in a critical new tech sector.
Nvidia has been caught in the crosshairs of that battle, with the federal government restricting it from selling certain types of chips to China.
Last December, Mr. Trump allowed Nvidia to start selling its H200 computer chips to “approved customers” in China. But the U.S. still bars the company from selling its most advanced chips (including those used to power AI models) in China.
Huang said he believes technology created in America should benefit the U.S. first. But he takes issue with government bans on the sale of U.S. tech in China.
“Every single chip company should go and serve the world, compete for the world,” he said. “That’s all about competing. America is about competition.”
Huang, who will attend a White House dinner on Sept. 24 where Mr. Trump will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he wants to speak with Xi about setting global standards for AI development.
Chinese leaders “want China to have the benefit of AI. They want China to prosper, just as we want America to prosper,” Huang said. “Don’t you wish every country would have aspirations for a better tomorrow? And I love that about them.”
Huang noted that there are some areas where American AI companies would not be able to work with China, such as national security or defense.
Why Huang defends data centers
Asked about the widespread public concerns about data centers in the U.S., Huang said he believes the AI industry made some missteps as the buildout was taking off.
“I would say we’re sorry we didn’t come talk to you sooner,” Huang said of addressing communities where voters are pushing back against data centers. “We need to go engage the communities long before we set up the data centers.”
Data centers have evolved from their early days, becoming more energy-efficient and requiring less water to operate, while also boosting job growth and local economic activity, according to Huang.
Building data centers can help “bring back building and manufacturing again,” he said.
“I’m just afraid of being poor”
Huang’s net worth stands at $182 billion, ranking him as the eighth-wealthiest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Voters in his home state of California will vote on a billionaires’ tax this fall, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians with net worths of $1 billion or more.
While other California billionaires have criticized the proposal, Huang said he doesn’t object to paying billions of dollars in additional taxes if the measure passes in November.
“The fact that I can afford to pay $8 billion in taxes over five years is a privilege,” Huang said. “I feel it’s a privilege. It’s a responsibility. And nothing would give me more joy than to be able to pay even more taxes.”
He added, “I’m not afraid of paying taxes — I’m just afraid of being poor.”
Huang also referred to himself as “the ultimate American dream” and credited the U.S. with fostering the educational and professional opportunities that enabled him to become an entrepreneur.
Huang said he was working as a dishwasher at Denny’s when he came up with the idea for Nvidia, and never dreamed that he would one day be at the forefront of the AI industry.
“I was just really, really focused on doing dishes like no dishwasher ever did dishes,” he said.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Jensen Huang (Video)
Story produced by Emily Pandise and Sari Aviv. Editor: Emanuele Secci.