Saturday morning President Trump announced he’s creating an AI task force and appointing an AI czar.
TRUMP: Over the years, there have been many Hoaxes, all generated by the Radical Left Dumocrats, for purposes of destroying our Country. RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, Global Warming, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2 […] and now, the decimation, or destruction, of AI, commonly known as Artificial Intelligence — And I, as President of the United States, will not stand by and let this happen.
It all began with an attack on our Data Centers, until people realized how wealthy and prestigious they were for the Communities in which they were built. Higher Salaries, Lower Taxes, and Safer Streets, was the result, and the crazed Data Center attack has largely failed, so now […] they are going straight at AI. We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!
However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System. 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. To that end, I will be announcing, in the near future, the AI “Czar” — Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!
Trump concluded by saying AI “is the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful… We are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!”
But what exactly is AI Force? “The White House did not immediately respond to a request to clarify whether the agency would be military or civilian,” notes the Washington Post. So now “The tech industry is struggling to make sense of President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement,” Politico reported Saturday afternoon:
Four representatives for the sector, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told POLITICO that the industry was not widely informed of Trump’s decision prior to the Truth Social post. “Nobody knows what the idea even is,” one of the people said. Another said that feedback on the idea was not widely solicited within the industry. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment…
“I think that he clearly feels pressure to say something, but he’s torn because he’s just spent the last few days saying that the whole thing is a hoax,” Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the progressive tech industry coalition Chamber of Progress, said of Trump and his prior dismissal of AI doomsday scenarios. Since the departure of David Sacks, who stepped down as the Trump administration’s previous AI czar earlier this year, the White House has been “making up AI policy as it goes,” Kovacevich added. “I think it’s clear they’ve really missed the presence of an organized leader like David Sacks was.”
One of the tech industry representatives said they were confused about whether the task force would be charged with formulating more AI regulations or recommending policies that would further stimulate the tech’s development. Taylor Barkley, director of federal government affairs at the industry-aligned Abundance Institute, is eyeing it as a way to solidify a light-touch government approach to the technology he says will foster innovation. “Any AI Force or AI Czar should have one job: keep the field open so entrepreneurs at every scale can compete, free from onerous regulation,” he told POLITICO. “Existing criminal and civil law can handle bad actors. New permission regimes will stifle the very activity America needs most.”
It’s worth noting that the day before, California’s governor made an announcement. “With Donald Trump and Congress asleep at the wheel, Governor Gavin Newsom is once again taking the lead to strengthen AI safety for all Americans,” the governor’s office announced Friday. Newsom issued a strong executive order convening experts to help California create new AI safety laws and reporting rules, possibly even requiring safety auditors embedded in labs and emergency “kill switches” in frontier models.
