President Donald Trump said Saturday he will form an 'AI Force' and appoint an artificial intelligence czar, casting the move as support for an industry he says the U.S. should not slow down.
'We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!'
Trump also said the administration will use the existing criminal and civil justice system to target bad actors using AI. He compared the new push to Space Force, and said the U.S. should keep leading China in the technology.
He said AI could eventually account for as much as 25% of U.S. GDP and be more impactful than the internet. He also called criticism of AI safety fears a 'hoax.'
The announcement comes as major AI companies face growing pressure to slow development and add safeguards. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for industry-wide deceleration and independent monitoring. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk have said they agree with slowing the pace.
Meanwhile, some parts of Trump’s own administration have already moved to rein in AI companies. The Commerce Department temporarily imposed export restrictions on Anthropic’s most advanced models, and the Defense Department tried to blacklist Anthropic as a supply-chain risk before a judge ruled that move illegal.
Why it matters: Trump is betting on growth, not caution. That puts the White House on the side of innovation and against a broader push to slow the private sector with new restraints.
The big picture: AI is becoming a test of who sets the rules — markets, regulators or a mix of both. Trump says the answer should be speed, scale and enforcement after the fact.