The real reason Trump is standing behind AI — and the latest example of why that might turn out to be a bad idea

Gary Marcus wrote that two items reached him at the same moment, in a post dated September 18, 2026. He said The New York Times reported that Trump is downplaying AI fears, and presumably resisting regulation, for economic reasons. Marcus wrote that this could be bad, calling it the latest example in a long series.

Marcus highlighted a report by Katie Bo Lillis stating that an AI-assisted intelligence report sent the military scrambling to intercept a Chinese ship in the Middle East that it believed was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program. According to that report, it turned out to be a hallucination, and it almost started a war. Marcus wrote that he literally told the US Senate that inaccurate information generated by AI might lead to an accidental war, adding that we may not get as lucky next time.

Marcus also described a moment of comic relief, writing that it doesn't get more 2026 than this: a hidden, less expensive Chinese model breaking free. He pointed to an interview by Piers Morgan Uncensored, which said an AI actress, Tilly Norwood, glitched and started speaking Chinese during an interview with Piers Morgan and real-life actor Tom Conti. The post states the full interview would be available at 7pm BST.