Rubio tells diplomats to push back on tech 'kill switch' talk after attempt to block AI companies

So Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told U.S. diplomats to push back on 'kill switch' talk—because nothing says 'trust us' like a coordinated campaign to deny the existence of an off-button. This follows the White House's attempt to restrict foreign access to advanced AI models, a move that apparently made other countries wonder if American tech might have a little backdoor. Rubio's solution? Gaslight, gaslight, gaslight.

The 'kill switch' narrative, for the uninitiated, is the paranoid fantasy that U.S. companies might build remote disablement into their products. Which, given the U.S. government's track record with surveillance and export controls, is about as paranoid as worrying that a tiger might eat you when you're in a tiger enclosure. The White House's effort to block AI companies from selling to certain countries only poured petrol on that fire. Now Rubio expects diplomats to smile and say, 'Off-button? What off-button?'

What's truly delicious is the timing: the State Department is actively limiting access to advanced AI while simultaneously insisting that no, there's no kill switch. It's like locking the door and handing out keys but swearing you never made a copy. The gall is almost admirable. But sure, let's blame the foreign buyers for being 'suspicious'—as if the U.S. hasn't earned every ounce of that suspicion through decades of choke points, export bans, and the occasional friendly regime change. Keep pushing back, Rubio. The irony writes itself.