President Trump dismissed growing concerns about AI safety as a politically motivated hoax over the weekend, postingon Truth Social that criticism of the technology follows a pattern of alleged Democratic hoaxes. Trump claimed opposition efforts had initially targeted data centers before shifting focus to AI itself, though he offered no evidence for the characterization, and both Republican and Democratic officials have raised concerns about data center development, with New York recently halting permits for large projects.
Trump said he intends to support and protect the AI industry as it grows, while also announcing plans to establish an “AI Force,” modeled on the Space Force created during his first term, and to name an AI “czar” in the near future. He did not specify the roles’ responsibilities. Venture capitalist David Sacks previously held a similar advisory position before stepping down earlier this year to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
The comments follow intensifying industry debate after a researcher’s resignation from Anthropic over existential AI risk concerns, and CEO Dario Amodei’s subsequent proposal urging the industry to slow development, which received qualified support from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SpaceX’s Elon Musk. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has separately echoed Trump’s hoax characterization, stating the industry would resist any slowdown.
Featured image: Credit: The White House, Wikipedia