President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that his administration plans to create an “AI Force” and appoint a new AI czar.
“We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry”, Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!”
Trump dismissed serious concerns about AI safety risks as a “hoax” and rejected calls from industry leaders requesting measured development timelines for frontier AI systems.
Trump predicted that artificial intelligence could eventually represent 25% of U.S. gross domestic product. He called AI “the next Industrial Revolution or Internet, but it will be even larger and more impactful.” The president offered few specifics about what the AI Force would accomplish or when he would hire the czar. He provided no nominee recommendations for the czar position nor detailed job responsibilities for the role.
Trump’s statement comes as the White House faces mounting pressure to establish AI regulatory guardrails after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for an industry slowdown on frontier AI model development. Amodei argued that developers need space between major capability advances to ensure thorough safety evaluation before public release. Leading figures including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis endorsed Amodei’s proposal for measured development paces.
Trump rejected the slowdown concept, arguing that slowing U.S. AI development would allow Chinese competitors to gain dominance while America falls behind strategically. Trump compared AI safety warnings to his previous dismissals of global warming concerns, claiming both represent “conspiracies created by Radical Left Democrats.”
David Sacks, the venture capitalist previously appointed AI czar in Trump’s second term, vacated that position in March after reaching federal employment time limits, according to CBS News. However, Sacks continues advising Trump through his role as chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
The White House plans a major AI-focused gathering Wednesday during the U.N. General Assembly meeting. That evening, Trump will host a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, featuring attendees including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. AI safety represents one agenda topic for Trump’s bilateral talks with Xi.
