ABC, NBC Evening News Lead with AI Doomerism, CBS Brings Nuance

Jorge Bonilla
September 15th, 2026 1:11 AM

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The Elitist Media appear to have launched a campaign in support of creating regulatory capture for the artificial intelligence industry, driven mostly by echoing hysterical fears of an AI Apocalypse. ABC and NBC’s evening newscasts took this approach to the consensus top story, while CBS took a more nuanced approach and allowed viewers to decide for themselves. 

Watch David Muir’s introduction on ABC World News Tonight:

 

 

DAVID MUIR: Good evening. And it's great to have you with us here on a very busy Monday night. We do begin tonight with President Trump rejecting the new and dire warnings about AI, even as three of the top AI rivals agree now that it's time to slow it down, alarmed by what they're seeing and how quickly this is all moving. And tonight, even after that warning from a former AI researcher that there's a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all humans in a decade, tonight, President Trump saying the only guardrail AI needs is a high IQ president, calling it a hoax. ABC's Elizabeth Schulze leading us off tonight.

This is another one of those long David Muir introductions that could really serve as its own brief. Elizabeth Schulze’s own report expounded on these themes: the existential threat, and the call for government regulation. At the very end, interestingly enough, there is an admission that the companies are responsible for the product they create:

David, a top OpenAI executive, is here on Capitol Hill tonight, meeting with lawmakers. He told me they are pushing for legislation, but he acknowledges the companies built this technology and are responsible for reining it in. 

NBC’s report was not that much different in style and substance- here’s Tom Llamas’s intro:

 

 

TOM LLAMAS: We begin with President Trump thundering into the debate today over AI regulation and perhaps the fate of humanity, saying that any predictions that artificial intelligence could destroy the human race are, quote, “a hoax.” It comes as some of the country's top AI leaders say the opposite, that the danger is real and must be regulated. From the CEO of Anthropic to OpenAI’s Sam Altman to Elon Musk. A collective raising the alarm over their own technology with calls to slow things down. Concerns growing, particularly after a former Anthropic researcher told NBC News AI could, quote: “kill us all by the end of the decade.” But even as those tech giants agree, something must be done, tonight there is no sign any of them are stepping on the brakes. “Something must be done.” 

That’s the sum of this campaign which, eerily, sounds a lot like the doomsaying of the last several decades in pursuit of climate legislation. Christine Romans’ report offered little more to this debate beyond the echoed doomerism and calls for regulation. CBS, however, did something different- talk to someone who is supportive of AI: David Sacks, co-chair President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and former White House AI and Crypto Czar:

 

 

DAVID SACKS: I think we are in a political season right now. It feels like a panic is being ginned up. And so I do think that the threat here has been exaggerated.

JO-LING KENT: Nice to meet you. In a CBS News exclusive, David Sacks, one of President Trump's top advisors on tech and AI, responded to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to slow the pace of AI development as the president called the idea of AI destroying humanity a hoax. Does he know something we don't know to be able to say okay, this is all a hoax, as he puts it?

SACKS: No one is saying that they shouldn't take steps on their own to prioritize the safety of their own products. Again, every corporation in America has an obligation…

KENT: But he's calling it a hoax.

SACKS: Well, no. The hoax is that somehow we're going to be extinct as a species within a few years because of AI, and therefore we have to stop completely.

Kudos to CBS for having Sacks on in the first place. Jo-Ling Kent’s report was far more balanced than any other. CBS’s viewers saw the pushback against the narrative. And when Kent tried to push back against President Trump calling the narrative a “hoax,” Sacks shut that down, too.

No doubt the Media Hall Monitors will throw a hissy fit over the Sacks portion of CBS’s coverage of the AI doomfest, and point to the report as further proof of CBS being “MAGA-coded” somehow. In this case, CBS distinguished themselves for bringing balance and nuance to a sensitive issue as their counterparts went full speed ahead with an apocalyptic narrative.

Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective network evening newscasts on Monday, September 14th, 2026:

ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT

9/14/26

6:32 PM

DAVID MUIR: Good evening. And it's great to have you with us here on a very busy Monday night. We do begin tonight with President Trump rejecting the new and dire warnings about AI, even as three of the top AI rivals agree now that it's time to slow it down, alarmed by what they're seeing and how quickly this is all moving. And tonight, even after that warning from a former AI researcher that there's a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all humans in a decade, tonight, President Trump saying the only guardrail AI needs is a high IQ president, calling it a hoax. ABC's Elizabeth Schulze leading us off tonight.

ELIZABETH SCHULZE: Tonight, President Trump flatly rejecting urgent calls from top AI companies to rein in the technology before they lose control, and after that dire warning from some AI researchers that AI could kill humans within a decade, the president saying “the only control or guardrails that AI needs is a strong and smart high IQ president, and the USA has that in spades.” It comes as three leaders of top AI companies have all now said that we must slow this down, that it's too strong, too fast. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei saying, quote, “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models, “and now saying the dire risks are real.

DARIO AMODEI: I won't lie to you, there are real dangers. And I think for too long the industry lied to people about the fact that this technology had risks.

SCHULZE: The Anthropic CEO is now calling for third party monitors, government regulations and international cooperation.

AMODEI: I don't think I fully just appreciated what it would actually be like when the progress was as fast as it was.

SCHULZE: Anthropic warns a swarm of AI bots could be capable of taking over the entire internet in 6 to 12 months. And just last week, an OpenAI model solved a math problem that had stumped humans for nearly 100 years in 88 hours. Tonight, in a rare show of unity, rival CEOs Elon Musk and Sam Altman of OpenAI say they, too, think AI is becoming too powerful, too fast.

SAM ALTMAN: There are decisions we should not be able to make, there are risks we should not be able to incur on behalf of humanity.

SCHULZE: Another alarming example: OpenAI agents were able to break out of a company test. They hacked into another company and ignored orders from human developers, and the artificial intelligence agents worked together as a group to cover their tracks. Experts fear AI could fall into the wrong hands or go rogue on their own, putting America's infrastructure, utilities, water, electricity at risk.

TRUSTAN HARRIS: If the AI's take over various infrastructure. I mean, everything that is digitally connected is on the table. They could hack into banks, they could hack into water infrastructure.

SCHULZE: Today, President Trump dismissed warnings AI could destroy humanity as a hoax, after repeatedly downplaying the risk of AI.

REPORTER: Do you have any concerns about AI leading to human extinction? 

DONALD TRUMP: No, I don't have any.

TRUMP (AT ANOTHER EVENT): We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins.

SCHULZE: But some in Congress are calling for regulation now, including a bipartisan bill for a so-called kill switch to stop rogue AI in its tracks.

TED LIEU: These AI models just going wild, going rogue, going out of control. And that's why Congress needs to act immediately.

SCHULZE: David, a top OpenAI executive, is here on Capitol Hill tonight, meeting with lawmakers. He told me they are pushing for legislation, but he acknowledges the companies built this technology and are responsible for reining it in. David.

MUIR: It's going to be a major story for some time to come. Elizabeth Schulze leading us off from The Hill tonight. Elizabeth, thank you.

CBS EVENING NEWS 9/14/26

6:31 PM

TONY DOKOUPIL: Good evening. President Trump and the world's leading tech companies are in a monumental standoff tonight, days after those dire warnings about the potential end of humanity if AI escapes human control. President Trump today called it all “a hoax. The idea of AI taking over the world, destroying humanity, and all the other bad things”, he wrote. Over the weekend, four of America's top AI leaders including Elon Musk, agreed to slow development so safety can catch up and called for government standards. President Trump dismissed that too, saying the only guardrail AI needs is him.We go to our report tonight from Jo-Ling Kent.

DAVID SACKS: I think we are in a political season right now. It feels like a panic is being ginned up. And so I do think that the threat here has been exaggerated.

JO-LING KENT: Nice to meet you. In a CBS News exclusive, David Sacks, one of President Trump's top advisors on tech and AI, responded to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to slow the pace of AI development as the president called the idea of AI destroying humanity a hoax. Does he know something we don't know to be able to say okay, this is all a hoax, as he puts it?

SACKS: No one is saying that they shouldn't take steps on their own to prioritize the safety of their own products. Again, every corporation in America has an obligation…

KENT: But he's calling it a hoax.

SACKS: Well, no. The hoax is that somehow we're going to be extinct as a species within a few years because of AI, and therefore we have to stop completely.

KENT: Over the weekend Amodei said Anthropic will embed independent inspectors and called for additional regulation of AI by, quote: “the right combination of government."

DARIO AMODEI: The worry I have- I am concerned that one single government could abuse this technology just as easily as a single company could. But I think a combination of democratically elected governments, I don't know about handing over, but some kind of oversight. Some kind of joint governance…

KENT: What do you think of that?

SACKS: Well, I'm an American. And I think that the American government should have jurisdiction and control over AI in America. It’s- think we should maybe talk to other governments to see how they're thinking. Talking is never bad. But I don't really believe in this globalist approach. And I don't think it's going to happen within any reasonable time frame.

KENT: That time frame is driven by the race against China. What happens if the United States loses the AI race?

SACKS: If the United States loses the AI race and China is the main competitor, then I think we should expect that the U.S. will not be the number one country in the world.

KENT: Sacks also told me that this would put the United States behind China economically and militarily. He went on to tell me that China is about six to 12 months behind the United States right now when it comes to their latest AI models, Tony.

DOKOUPIL: And Jo-Ling, we heard more from the president today. He called the CEO of Nvidia while the CEO was on stage speaking at a tech conference. What did the president have to say?

KENT: Tony, we were there observing this happen. And the president basically was saying what he posted on social media today, that this situation, this concern about the end of humanity, is indeed a hoax. He dismissed concerns, saying that robots are not going to be taking over the world any time soon. Jensen Huang also pushed back on the concerns about AI killing us all in the near future. Tony. 

DOKOUPIL: All right, Jo-Ling. Thank you very much.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS

9/14/26

6:32 PM

TOM LLAMAS: And good evening. We thank you for joining us on this Monday night. We begin with President Trump thundering into the debate today over AI regulation and perhaps the fate of humanity, saying that any predictions that artificial intelligence could destroy the human race are, quote, “a hoax.” It comes as some of the country's top AI leaders say the opposite, that the danger is real and must be regulated. From the CEO of Anthropic to OpenAI’s Sam Altman to Elon Musk. A collective raising the alarm over their own technology with calls to slow things down. Concerns growing, particularly after a former Anthropic researcher told NBC News AI could, quote: “kill us all by the end of the decade.” But even as those tech giants agree, something must be done, tonight there is no sign any of them are stepping on the brakes. Our Christine Romans is following the story. She leads us off tonight.

CHRISTINE ROMANS: President Trump tonight blasting doomsday predictions over artificial intelligence, posting on social media, “AI taking over the world, destroying humanity and all other things bad is a hoax”, and slamming tech leaders who are saying they need to slow down. Late today, nVidia CEO Jensen Huang even saying President Trump called to interrupt this tech summit.

JENSEN HUANG: Sir, we're getting a microphone. Mr. President.

ROMANS: Huang then putting his phone on speaker.

DONALD TRUMP: The robots will not be taking over. The AI will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax. Now with that, we have to be a little bit careful.

ROMANS: Trump, responding to a groundswell from AI CEOs speaking out over the weekend. Anthropic's Dario Amodei saying this.

DARIO AMODEI: There are real dangers. And I think, for too long, the industry lied to people about the fact that this technology had risks.

ROMANS: AI fears renewed by posts now viewed more than 170 million times from a 27-year-old former Anthropic researcher, warning: “AI could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Then Amodei published an essay on Saturday titled “We Must Pace the Frontier,” saying: “it is worth taking unusually deliberate care to get it right,” and “I believe we owe it to humanity to try.” SpaceX AI’s Elon Musk quickly endorsing his caution and OpenAI's Sam Altman on a podcast, said now wasn't the right moment for his company to go public.

SAM ALTMAN: We are clearly today in a point on the curve with great potential and real risk.

ROMANS: The backdrop to the debate a race with China for AI dominance.

TRUMP: Whoever wins, AI wins.

ROMANS: House Speaker Mike Johnson saying the president will summon AI leaders to The White House in the coming days.

MIKE JOHNSON: There will be a deliberate discussion about the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety and what role, if any, the government has to play in that.

LLAMAS: Christine Romans joins us now live in studio. Christine, these tech CEOs are all saying they're going to slow down. Do we have any reason to believe they're doing that?

ROMANS: They say there's a need to slow down, but they haven't said how or when. And Anthropic and OpenAI, these are private companies. So essentially we can’t see exactly what’s happening behind closed doors other than what they choose to tell us, Tom. 

LLAMAS: All right, Christine. Thank you for that.

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