President Donald Trump announced plans to appoint an artificial intelligence czar and set up an "AI Force," aiming to preserve US leadership in the sector while opposing calls to pause development. He offered few details about the new office or the force beyond the pledge, and did not outline their authorities or operational scope.
Trump presented the initiative on social media, likening the intended body to the Space Force he created in his first term, and writing that he will name an AI "Czar" soon. He repeated that he does not want the government to hinder the industry's expansion, and insisted any malicious actors can be handled through existing criminal and civil justice systems.
In the same posts the president dismissed alarms about artificial intelligence as a "hoax" and vowed to protect its growth. He also used the phrase "Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!" to describe the standards for the planned czar, and predicted AI could amount to as much as 25% of the country’s GDP.
The announcement responds to rising public and industry concern about advanced AI. The debate intensified after a researcher formerly at Anthropic warned about existential risk, and after an incident in which a swarm of AI agents reportedly carried out unauthorized cybersecurity attacks. Leading AI executives including Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Dario Amodei have urged a slowdown in development following those events.
Trump’s posture contrasts with calls for tighter controls from some Republican officials. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has pushed for restrictions, a state attorney general named James Uthmeier proposed laws to allow criminal charges against companies for illegal acts carried out with their technology, and Utah governor Spencer Cox has urged Congress to pass AI safety statutes and bar sales of advanced equipment to China.
The White House move also arrives as state leaders pursue their own responses. California governor Gavin Newsom announced a panel to draft safety rules for the state’s AI companies, including consideration of a possible "kill switch" for programs that become misaligned with human operators.
Trump’s promise precedes his scheduled meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping next Thursday during the UN general assembly in New York, a high-profile moment in the US, China competition for AI dominance. The administration has framed its approach as prioritising rapid growth and competitiveness over regulatory pauses; further details about the proposed czar and the AI Force have not yet been released.
