President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he plans to create an "AI Force" and appoint an artificial intelligence "czar," marking a notable shift from his recent insistence that the rapidly growing technology sector does not need new guardrails. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote the new initiative would oversee AI while avoiding regulations he believes could slow innovation. He said the administration would "not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry" and instead would "cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows." He added that existing criminal and civil laws are sufficient to address misconduct by AI companies.
"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," the president announced. "To that end, I will be announcing, in the near future, the AI 'Czar' — Only High I.Q. individuals need apply! AI is the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful, possibly as much as 25% of our Country’s GDP.
We are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!" Trump's proposal, which did not provide details about the structure, authorities or staffing, arrives as AI becomes a central issue in U.S. economic, national security and technology policy. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment on Saturday. Tech executives including Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk have recently supported stronger safeguards or slower development of advanced AI systems, arguing that safety measures should keep pace with increasingly powerful models.
The president has repeatedly framed AI as a strategic competition with China, warning that the United States must maintain its lead in the sector. The announcement comes days after Trump dismissed concerns about advanced AI systems and argued that a "strong and smart" president was the only guardrail the technology needs. It also marks an evolution in the administration's message.
Earlier this month, Trump dismissed calls for additional federal oversight, calling fears that AI could pose existential risks a "hoax" and alleging there was a "SICK conspiracy" against AI development and data centers. "The opportunity is not simply to create another government organization," John Walsh, chief technology officer for government and critical infrastructure at IGEL, told Newsweek in an emailed statement Saturday following Trump's announcement. "It is to establish [and] create an environment that drives the ecosystem bringing government, industry, researchers, standards bodies together and ultimately insurers together around measurable AI safety and security." Walsh said that the automotive safety industry is a good example of how regulation can be done to create a common criteria, "where products can be independently evaluated against defined security requirements and certifications recognized internationally." "The objective shouldn't be regulation for regulation's sake.
It should be creating standards, testing, validation and economic incentives that allow innovation to move faster because we can demonstrate that AI can be trusted. Ultimately, safety and security should become competitive advantages," he said. Walsh also told Newsweek that "technology markets are global." "If the United States, working with industry and standards organizations, helps establish practical and measurable requirements for trustworthy AI, technology providers seeking broad commercial acceptance will have a strong incentive to design to those requirements," he said.
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