Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says it’s time for the so-called AI doomers to turn the page.
“Listen, if you want to warn the world about the incredible capabilities of this technology, I think it’s been achieved,” Huang told Axios’ Mike Allen in a wide-ranging interview that was released in full on Thursday.
Huang said some of his fellow AI leaders are scaring the American people by raising concerns about widespread job losses. He said their fears about China’s standing in the AI race are similarly spooking policymakers in Washington.
“We just all have to be thoughtful and careful,” Huang said, adding, “We’re scaring people.”
Huang also stressed that it’s perfectly reasonable to focus on safety and to inform regulators about the technology, but that the industry also needs to sell the benefits of AI.
“I think that we ought to be much more enthusiastic about it, help the United States realize that the only way we get left behind, the only way we get left behind is if we don’t apply the technology,” he said.
AI is reaching a critical point as November’s midterm elections approach.
More people are using the technology than ever before. Generative AI models like Anthropic’s Fable 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6-Sol have advanced far beyond their predecessors from just a year ago. At the same time, polling shows the American people are worried AI will lead to mass layoffs. Data centers are becoming a political wedge issue, with both Democratic- and Republican-led states clamping down on incentives for their construction.
AI leaders should just “tell the facts,” Huang said, starting with the reality that the job losses some predicted have not materialized. There is growing evidence that some executives, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have changed how they talk about the future workforce.
Huang said there are other narratives in AI that are not helpful, pointing to the debate about whether AI has consciousness, will reach singularity, or that humanity is just in a simulation.
“Don’t create a story that is made up,” he said. “It is made up that there’s going to be a singularity. It’s made up that somehow we’re living in a simulation. These are all made ups. I think it’s a fun story. I don’t mind listening to it. And I even enjoy the narrative when it’s told by many of those leaders who are my friends.”
The Nvidia CEO did not name specific leaders or companies that have contributed to the negative narratives he sees swirling around the industry.
That said, it’s hard to ignore that many of the narratives he said he finds most distasteful are discussed by Anthropic and its CEO, Dario Amodei. Amodei is the AI industry’s most outspoken voice when it comes to the potential of widespread job losses. He has repeatedly warned that AI could wipe out up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next one to five years. Unlike other leading AI labs, Anthropic also frequently publishes research discussing whether its Claude AI has or is approaching aspects of human thought and feeling.
Huang also said that some in the AI industry are hyping up concerns about China, “because some of the companies hope that the government would be helpful in creating regulations in their advantage.” Amodei has clashed with Huang over pushing the US to impose export controls that would cut off China-based companies from access to advanced chips like those Nvidia sells. Nvidia stands to gain if regulators in the US and China allow it to resume business in China.
While Huang loathes the “science fiction” talk being pushed in his industry, he does have a soft spot for two iconic characters in a $10 billion franchise.
“The closest thing to true AI is R2D2 and C3PO,” Huang said, alluding to the beloved Star Wars droids. “And who doesn’t want R2D2 and C3PO?”
