Trump Announces 'AI Force' After Calling Safety Warnings a Hoax

President Donald Trump announced plans to establish an "AI Force" dedicated to accelerating artificial intelligence development in the United States, according to a Truth Social post published Saturday. The initiative comes days after Trump dismissed warnings about AI risks as a "hoax" during a conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The president stated he would appoint an "AI 'Czar'" to lead the effort, specifying that "Only High IQ individuals need apply!" Trump characterized AI safety concerns as part of what he called hoaxes created by political opponents to harm American competitiveness.

Why it matters

Trump's dismissal of AI safety concerns puts the White House at odds with prominent technologists who warn that rapid, unregulated development could pose catastrophic risks. This policy direction signals the administration will prioritize speed and market dominance over the cautious approach advocated by some industry leaders, potentially reshaping how AI governance evolves in the world's largest technology market.

Framing AI as Economic Imperative

In his post, Trump projected that AI could represent "as much as 25% of our Country's GDP" and described it as "the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful." He emphasized maintaining America's lead over China and other nations.

The AI Force, according to Trump, would be tasked with "looking for BAD" in the industry's development, though he provided no details about what regulatory or oversight functions the body would perform.

Trump also suggested the term "artificial intelligence" inadequately describes the technology, proposing alternatives including "Superior Intelligence (SI) or, Extreme Intelligence (EI) or, Supreme Intelligence (SI)."

Industry Leaders Sound Alarms

The announcement contrasts sharply with recent warnings from AI company executives. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called earlier this month for AI companies to deliberately slow their pace of model advancement, outlining a framework to create more time for managing risks, according to Reuters.

Jacob Coxon, a former employee of both Anthropic and OpenAI, resigned while accusing the companies of "gambling with our lives." Coxon warned the technology could "kill us all by the end of the decade."

During Monday's call with Huang, Trump characterized data centers as "the oil of the next 20 to 25 years" and suggested industry leaders raising safety concerns were "playing right into the hands of some people that don't want to see it happening."

The details were first reported by the Jerusalem Post, with contributions from Reuters and Jerusalem Post staff.