Donald Trump Announces AI Force And Appoints AI Czar Amid US-China AI Race

President Donald Trump said Saturday he will appoint a new artificial intelligence adviser, known as an "AI czar," and create an "AI force," while not providing details on how either initiative would be structured or implemented.

“plans to appoint a new artificial intelligence adviser, known as an "AI czar," and create an "AI force"”

Reuters

Trump said his administration would support the growth of the AI industry while using existing criminal and civil justice systems to address potential wrongdoing, writing on Truth Social that "We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry."

CBS News

Trump also said he would be "looking for BAD" and that it could be handled "very easily" with the "already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System," framing the effort as a way to regulate without slowing development.

The announcement comes as Washington debates AI risks and as the US-China contest intensifies, with Trump’s plan arriving ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Reuters reported that Trump’s post comes after calls for a slowdown in model development from leaders including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, with Reuters noting that fears are growing among US lawmakers about risks to humans and property.

Trump repeated his assessment that fears over AI amount to a hoax, while also seeming to acknowledge some risks, saying, “we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.”

CNN reported that Trump compared the proposed AI Force to the Space Force, saying, “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.”C

CNN

In Washington, fears are growing among lawmakers about risks posed by AI technology on humans and property, and Reuters said earlier this month former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned that people building AI "earnestly believe" it could kill us all by the end of the decade.

NBC News said Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing that Congress has “maybe a year” to regulate the industry.

NBC News also reported that Democrats have pushed for regulation at the state level, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s AI task force and data center accountability plan aimed at addressing “growing concern and risks posed by the rapid development of artificial intelligence.”

Trump’s AI Force and AI czar announcement is tied to the US-China competition, with Reuters saying the post comes ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

“ahead of his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday”

Reuters

Reuters also reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Sunday at JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) headquarters in New York to discuss AI security, trade and other economic issues.

The stakes described by the sources include whether the US will lead in AI development, with Trump writing, “We are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!”

CBS News added that Trump called AI “the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet,” and predicted it could be “as much as 25% of our Country's GDP.”C

Meanwhile, Reuters said the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post, and it noted that David Sacks previously served as AI czar before stepping down in the spring and moving into an external advisory position.