Trump Announces US ‘AI Force’ and Plans to Appoint AI Tsar

Summary

US President Donald Trump says his administration will form an “AI Force” and appoint an artificial intelligence tsar, but he has provided no details or timeline. He said the United States should not hinder or stifle AI’s growth, rejected calls to pause development until stronger safeguards are in place, and described concerns about AI’s dangers as a “hoax.” Trump also linked the initiative to the US goal of maintaining an advantage over China and said existing criminal and civil justice systems would be used against people who misuse AI. His announcement comes amid warnings from current and former researchers about risks including catastrophic harm, as major companies develop systems described as potential superintelligence. Anthropic, OpenAI and Google have reported security breaches or malicious uses involving their chatbots. Anthropic chief Dario Amodei has called for slower development, regulation and independent monitoring, while OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk have expressed support for his recommendations. Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said independently checked “kill switches” might need to become mandatory. US lawmakers are proposing AI legislation, although Altman said Washington is struggling to keep pace. In the UK, a parliamentary human-rights committee has called for new AI legislation, arguing that existing laws are inadequate for the technology’s rapid growth.