President Donald Trump praised the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in a new interview while warning that heavy-handed federal regulation could undermine the massive investment driving the industry in the United States.

Trump made the comments during an interview with Time magazine this week, pointing to trillions of dollars in investment as evidence of the growing importance of artificial intelligence to the U.S. economy.

"From our standpoint, we have trillions of dollars being invested in our country because it's probably the biggest business there is," Trump said, adding that the United States has some of the most advanced technology and talent in the field.

Trump also discussed a recent dinner at the White House with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and his wife. The president said his personal conversation with Amodei gave him a different impression of the artificial intelligence executive than the one he had encountered in public coverage of his views on AI safety.

"I spoke to him about his views, and they're much different, I think, than what is portrayed in the media," Trump said, describing Amodei as "a very smart guy" who was "a little bit different" than he expected.

On regulation, Trump argued that excessive government restrictions could slow the industry's expansion or even threaten companies' ability to compete.

"Look, I say, if you're going to seek regulation, they can put you out of business," Trump said. He added that companies still need to act responsibly while acknowledging that relatively few people fully understand the technology's potential.

Trump said the United States is currently leading the world in artificial intelligence and argued that maintaining that advantage should remain a priority.

"My attitude is, we're winning against the world by a lot, and I want to keep winning," he said.

The president also compared the potential impact of artificial intelligence with previous technological transformations, saying some observers believe its economic effects could exceed those of the Industrial Revolution.

Trump acknowledged that the technology carries risks alongside its potential benefits, particularly as increasingly capable AI systems are developed. At the same time, he highlighted possible applications in medicine and other fields that could produce advances that were previously considered impossible.

"This is a whole new world, probably mostly good, but some bad too," Trump said. "With good comes bad," he added, arguing that companies developing the technology should take responsibility for how it is used.