Trump plans an AI Force and a new AI czar, rejects calls to slow AI, floats renaming it

President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he intends to create an AI Force and will soon name a new AI czar, adding that applicants for the czar role should have a high IQ. He did not say what either would do, when they would be set up, or who might be chosen, according to reporting from TechCrunch and The Verge. He compared the AI Force to the Space Force, which was established during his first term and which he described as a success.

The posts arrived as some of the most prominent figures in AI have called for development to slow down. Trump rejected that idea. His administration, he wrote, "will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry," as quoted by The Verge. He added that it would instead support and look after the sector as it grows.

A proposed new name

TechCrunch reported that Trump opened his remarks on Saturday by saying many people consider the term artificial intelligence inaccurate. He then posted a poll asking followers to pick a replacement from three options: Superior Intelligence, Extreme Intelligence or Supreme Intelligence. Voting had not closed when TechCrunch published.

Safety concerns called a hoax

In a later post, Trump grouped efforts to curb AI with a series of past political controversies that he labelled hoaxes started by his opponents on the left. He said the campaign had begun with opposition to data centers and had now moved on to AI itself. He described data centers as wealthy and prestigious for the communities that host them. The Verge reported that he also said they raise wages, cut taxes and make streets safer, and noted that he gave no evidence for this. TechCrunch noted that he offered no evidence that public distrust of AI and data centers is anything other than genuine.

Trump also wrote that AI would be bigger than the internet and could reach as much as 25% of US GDP, and that the US is ahead of China, according to Ars Technica. TechCrunch reported that at a golf tournament the previous weekend, he had said he was open to guardrails while arguing that negative forces were driving the debate.

The debate he is responding to

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently published a proposal calling for the industry to slow how quickly it improves model capabilities, both Ars Technica and TechCrunch reported. TechCrunch said this followed a researcher's public departure from Anthropic over safety concerns, and that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking with Trump by phone on stage at the All-In Summit, agreed that the backlash was a hoax.

Data centers have also become a campaign issue ahead of the midterm elections. Ars Technica reported that Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, in August announced a temporary moratorium on data centers, and that the Republican-led House passed a bill requiring data centers, rather than consumers, to pay for the energy cost increases they cause. It cited an Associated Press poll finding that 63% of Americans say they are extremely or very worried about data centers' effect on electricity prices. TechCrunch noted that New York has stopped issuing permits for big data center projects, the first state to do so.

The AI czar role was previously held by venture capitalist David Sacks, who stepped down earlier this year.