President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will appoint a czar to take point on artificial intelligence and will also create an AI task force.
The move comes after AI researchers warned that the technology could soon spiral out of human control, sparking concerns and calls for industry regulation.
Trump said in a social media post Saturday he would not let the “decimation” of AI happen.
“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,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump added that “only High I.Q. individuals need apply” to the new AI czar role, to which he did not name an appointee in the post.
Trump has seemed unfazed by the warnings over the last two weeks, calling them a “hoax” and saying the priority should be for the U.S. to lead in AI development and beat China.
“Whoever wins AI wins,” Trump said multiple times over the last week.
In a flurry of social media posts, the president launched a full-throated defense of the technology, and he even called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang while Huang was onstage at an industry summit to talk about the issue.
The White House did not immediately provide more details on Trump’s new initiative.
While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have attempted to advance legislation in the past few years, it has not gone anywhere. But members of Congress are once again discussing the issue amid renewed warnings.
During a closed-door briefing on the topic this week, Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” warned lawmakers that time was running out to regulate the industry, telling them Congress has “maybe a year” to get the job done.
Trump previously had an AI and cryptocurrency czar, David Sacks, who stepped down earlier this year due to limits on his term as a special government employee. Sacks has since taken an advisory role in the administration and is expected to join Trump’s state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Democrats widely seen as 2028 presidential hopefuls have made moves to regulate AI at the state level.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday seeking to increase oversight of the industry and urged a task force to consider requiring the creation of a kill switch. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has called on the federal government to regulate AI, and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger launched an AI task force and data center accountability plan aimed at addressing “growing concern and risks posed by the rapid development of artificial intelligence.”
Former President Barack Obama advised Democrats during an fundraiser last week to prioritize creating a plan on the issue and said he would make it a central issue if he were running in 2028.
