Donald Trump said on Saturday he will create an "AI Force" modeled on the Space Force he set up during his first term, and that he will also name an artificial intelligence "czar," according to the Guardian and SiliconANGLE. He gave almost no details about either plan.
Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social platform, in which he also dismissed global concern over AI's risks as a "hoax" that he blamed on "Radical Left" opponents, both outlets reported.
"I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term," Trump wrote, adding that he would announce the AI czar "in the near future," the Guardian reported.
He vowed that his administration "will not in any way hinder or stifle" the AI industry's growth, and argued that the existing criminal and civil justice systems are enough to deal with any "bad actors" in the sector, according to the Guardian and SiliconANGLE.
In the same post, Trump predicted AI could eventually account for as much as 25% of the United States' gross domestic product, calling it "the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful." That figure is Trump's own projection, not an independent estimate, and neither outlet attributed it to any other source.
A response to mounting safety warnings
The announcement follows weeks of rising alarm inside the AI industry. Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has called for a coordinated slowdown in developing the most advanced models, after a former Anthropic researcher warned that AI companies are "gambling with our lives," according to the Guardian and SiliconANGLE.
Other prominent AI figures, including OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, SpaceX's Elon Musk and Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis, have also backed calls for a slower pace of development, SiliconANGLE reported.
Trump has consistently rejected any pause, arguing that slowing down would hand China an advantage in the race to build advanced AI systems, both outlets said. "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," he wrote, according to the Guardian.
Timed to a high-stakes week with China
The plan surfaces days before Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, which coincides with the United Nations General Assembly, according to the Guardian and SiliconANGLE. SiliconANGLE reported that the White House is planning a state dinner tied to the visit, and that AI safety is on the agenda for Trump's talks with Xi.
SiliconANGLE also noted that the AI czar role is not new: venture capitalist David Sacks briefly held it earlier in Trump's term before stepping down in March, though he has continued advising the president through the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
According to the Guardian, the push for a formal AI body also comes as members of Trump's own party have broken with his hands-off approach, with some Republican governors calling for state-level safety rules. Trump did not say when the AI czar would be named or what authority the AI Force would have.
States are already moving on their own
The Guardian reported that Trump's post came a day after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a separate plan for a state panel to draft AI safety regulations, including the development of a possible "kill switch" for AI systems that become misaligned or act outside human control.
That state-level activity underscores the gap Trump's plan would have to fill. Neither the Guardian nor SiliconANGLE reported any federal legislation attached to the AI Force or the czar role, and both outlets noted that Trump has previously opposed mandatory federal rules for the industry, preferring to let companies police themselves while insisting the United States must keep its lead over China.
