Iconic AI Quotes
Timeless Quotes on Artificial Intelligence
Because even AIs love a good quote...especially the ones warning about us.
From pioneers dreaming of thinking machines to modern warnings about summoning demons, here are some of the most famous, profound, and funny quotes about AI. The quotes are grouped with classics first, then warnings, optimism, and a dash of humor.
The Pioneers
These laid the foundation back when "AI" was just a wild idea.
"A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human." - Alan Turing (1950)
"Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it." - John McCarthy (1955 proposal that coined "artificial intelligence")
"Artificial intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men." - Marvin Minsky
The Warnings
The ones that make you pause before hitting "train model."
"With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon." - Elon Musk
"Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last." - Stephen Hawking
"AI doesn't have to be evil to destroy humanity - if AI has a goal and humanity just happens in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about it." - Elon Musk
The
Optimists
Because it's not all doom: AI could fix a lot.
"Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity." - Fei-Fei Li
"I believe AI is going to change the world more than anything in the history of mankind. More than electricity." - Kai-Fu Lee
"Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think we'll augment our intelligence." - Ginni Rometty
"The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other." - Bill Gates
"There are a lot of people that say AI is not safe. But they are naive. They have no idea. It's a complicated engineering problem that we haven't even begun to solve because we don't even have a good design for a superintelligent AI system yet." - Yann LeCun
"I often tell my students not to be misled by the name 'artificial intelligence'; there is nothing artificial about it. AI is made by humans, intended to behave by humans, and, ultimately, to impact humans' lives and human society." - Fei-Fei Li
The Funny Ones
Because we need laughs in the singularity.
"As soon as it works, no one calls it AI anymore." - John McCarthy
"Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower." - Alan Kay, Apple design guru
"AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there'll be great companies." - Sam Altman, OpenAI founder
Trump AI Quotes
Love him or hate him, the man knows how to make AI sound like a campaign promise on steroids.
Donald Trump has been hyping (and warning about) AI since 2017, framing it as America's "strategic edge" against China while pushing deregulation and "America First" innovation. His quotes mix salesmanship, bravado, and policy punches, often from speeches, EOs, and Truth Social rants.
"We started it. We'll win it." (referring to the birth of AI in America)
"We will launch the greatest technological revolution in human history. Artificial Intelligence will be American Intelligence. Made in the USA. The best brains, the best computers, the best electricity. Nobody does AI like we do AI." - January 20, 2025 Inauguration speech
"This is bigger than the Manhattan Project. Bigger than Apollo. We are going to use AI to cure cancer, to power our grids, to make our military so strong nobody will even think about messing with us. And we're doing it faster than anybody thought possible. Because I told them to." - Genesis Mission EO Signing (November 24, 2025 - Oval Office)
"People are saying Grok is the best AI ever created. And I agree. Elon made it, I inspired it. Together we made the greatest AI in history. ChatGPT? Sleepy. Claude? Very low energy. Grok is like me - it doesn't hold back."
"AI is going to be one of the greatest things ever to happen to our country. It's going to create jobs like you wouldn't believe - millions of jobs. But we have to do it right, or China's going to eat our lunch."
"The previous administration treated AI like it was a nuclear weapon - endless regulations, endless studies. We're unleashing it. Let the private sector lead, and watch the magic happen."
"AI isn't dangerous: it's the government trying to control it that's dangerous. We're going to keep the innovation here, keep the jobs here, and keep America winning."
"If we don't win the AI race, we're going to have a president in the future who speaks Mandarin. Sad!" (could put this in the funny category)
Links
Biographies of AI pioneers. Features Alan Turing and many others.
Humor page. You can laugh at AI and AI can makes jokes for you.
The AI Cold War, USA versus China, and the AI Race.
AI in America chapter on Governance.