Former President Donald Trump revealed plans on social media to establish a dedicated federal entity focused on artificial intelligence, a move that arrives amid intensified warnings from industry leaders and rising unease among voters. While the announcement signals a policy priority, significant ambiguity surrounds the initiative's scope, funding, and leadership, leaving market analysts doubtful about its immediate effectiveness.
According to reports, Trump stated on social media that he would soon form an "AI task force" and intends to appoint a director to oversee the effort. He characterized artificial intelligence as the next industrial revolution or a new internet wave, projecting its economic impact could eventually account for as much as 25% of U.S. gross domestic product. In his post, he criticized what he called "radical Democrats" attempting to "destroy AI," asserting that his administration would not hinder or stifle the industry's growth. He emphasized a commitment to nurturing and protecting AI development, while also indicating that existing criminal and civil legal frameworks would be used to prosecute AI-related misconduct.
This announcement follows a notable incident during an "All-In Summit" in Los Angeles, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang received a phone call from Trump on stage. During that call, Trump dismissed warnings about AI dangers as a "scam," framing calls to slow development as political manipulation, stating, "We will never let them win."
Trump's social media post on Truth Social outlined a plan to establish the AI task force, drawing a parallel to how the Space Force was created during his first term. This marks his first proposal for a federal body specifically dedicated to AI, but key details, including its exact function, budget size, and potential leaders, remain undefined. Currently, entities like the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense all hold pieces of tech policy responsibility. The Defense Department's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office already focuses on AI matters. Several tech executives have expressed confusion over how a new body would coordinate with these existing structures.
The role of the AI director also presents a vacancy. Previously, Trump appointed investor David Sacks as an AI and cryptocurrency czar, but Sacks has since transitioned to co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, retaining only an advisory role in AI policy.
Tech executives familiar with the matter indicate that Trump's internal advisory team is sharply divided over AI regulation. One faction is increasingly concerned about cybersecurity risks from rapidly advancing AI models, while another camp, represented by Sacks, advocates for minimal regulatory oversight. This internal tension has led to fluctuating White House AI policy stances, making market predictions difficult. Adam Kovacevich, head of the tech industry group Chamber of Progress, commented bluntly, "Nobody knows what this means. He needs a czar because the White House has been a mess for the last six months trying to advance AI policy without one." He added that the abrupt announcement suggests Trump feels pressure to act on AI but lacks a clear strategy, noting, "He reads the polls just like everyone else."
The announcement comes against a backdrop of intense and frequent warnings from AI industry figures urging a slower pace of development. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, recently published a blog post calling for the industry to decelerate the creation of cutting-edge tools. He proposed several measures, including greater global coordination among democratic nations and the introduction of third-party safety assessment bodies. Amodei wrote, "I believe that if a slowdown buys us an extra year or two and we use that time to push forward on alignment research, we can substantially reduce the risk of something serious going wrong." Adding to the concern, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon recently resigned, citing worries that his company and its competitors are racing to build systems they may soon be unable to control.
Sam Altman of OpenAI has also cautioned that the startling pace of AI progress could be "very bad," potentially leading to a loss of human control over the future. He has expressed support for a federal framework that establishes consistent safety requirements for frontier AI, emphasizing that "no American competitive pressure should be a reason to act recklessly." In related moves, Microsoft released a provisional code of conduct to govern the training of new AI models, and former President Barack Obama publicly endorsed checks on AI development and backed calls for increased government oversight during a speech at Colgate University.