Trump to create AI force - as lawsuit claims firms illegally agreed to slow development

President Donald Trump responded to the ongoing debate surrounding AI safety by proclaiming that such concerns are merely hoaxes devised by the "Radical Left Democrats" to harm the country. He introduced a poll on his social network Truth Social, asking followers to vote on a new name for the technology, with options including Superior Intelligence, Extreme Intelligence, or Supreme Intelligence.

Hours later, Trump claimed that efforts to "decimate, or destroy" AI are just another Democratic hoax, similar to claims about Russia, Ukraine, global warming, impeachment, transgender rights, and the presence of men in women's sports.

Trump vowed that he would not allow these attacks on AI to succeed, stating that they began with an "attack on our Data Centers," which he says "largely failed." However, he did not provide any evidence to support his claims. The president also echoed his comments from a recent golf tournament, where he suggested that he is open to "guardrails" for AI but believes that "negative forces" are responsible for the negative attention it receives.

Trump expressed his commitment to supporting the AI industry, stating that he will "cherish [the AI industry], help it, and watch over it, as it grows." However, he also announced plans to form an AI Force, akin to the Space Force he established in his previous term. In this AI Force, he plans to appoint an AI czar, tasked with overseeing the technology, and requires only individuals with high IQs to apply.

Currently, the duties of the AI Force and AI czar remain undisclosed. Notably, venture capitalist David Sacks stepped down from his role as Trump's AI and crypto czar earlier this year to co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The intensifying AI safety debate followed an AI researcher's resignation from Anthropic, citing fears that leading AI companies "earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade" and are "gambling with our lives."

In response, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a plan to "pace the frontier," which was endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Critics argue that many of these concerns about AI's existential threat are distractions from the technology's more immediate and tangible harms.