Donald Trump has announced plans to form an “AI Force” and appoint an AI czar, while rejecting calls for the United States to slow the development of artificial intelligence.
The president suggested the new body could have a law-enforcement role as concerns grow about the technology’s rapid advance. He said existing criminal and civil justice systems would be able to deal with misconduct.
“We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!”
He compared the planned organisation with the US Space Force, writing: “For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term.”
Mr Trump also dismissed recent calls for technology companies to reduce the pace of development as politically motivated “hoaxes”. He said opposition to the large data centres needed to power AI had emerged as a major issue during the midterm election season but had largely failed.
The president predicted that AI could eventually account for as much as 25 per cent of US gross domestic product and have a greater impact than the internet.
“We are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!” he added.
David Sacks previously served as AI and crypto czar during Mr Trump’s second term. The investor later stepped down to become co-chair of the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Mr Trump’s announcement comes as some of the industry’s leading figures have agreed to curb the speed of development amid growing warnings about its possible consequences.
Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, said last Saturday that the company would give independent evaluators permanent, employee-level access as part of a wider plan to improve safety and slow development.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Elon Musk of SpaceXAI and Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind, also agreed to the approach. Mr Altman has said leading AI laboratories could be close to announcing a joint agreement to slow development and address increasing safety risks.
The debate intensified after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned and accused Anthropic and OpenAI, where he had previously worked, of developing increasingly capable systems irresponsibly.
“They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” Mr Coxon wrote on X. Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s alignment science lead, responded that researchers at the two companies “really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!”
Parts of the Trump administration have separately taken steps against AI companies. The Commerce Department temporarily imposed export restrictions on Anthropic’s most advanced models, while the Defence Department sought to label the company a supply-chain risk. A judge later ruled that move illegal.
A lawsuit filed in California on Friday has also alleged that AI companies breached antitrust laws by agreeing to co-ordinate efforts to slow development. The plaintiffs claim such an arrangement would reduce the value of the AI subscriptions they had bought.
They said they did not oppose the companies asking the federal government to regulate AI or grant an antitrust exemption, but argued that safety measures should not be controlled by private agreements between technology firms.
