United States President, Donald Trump, has announced plans to establish an “AI Force” and appoint an artificial intelligence tsar as the United States seeks to strengthen its position in the rapidly developing technology sector.
Trump made the announcement in a social media post on Saturday, saying his administration “will not in any way hinder or stifle the growth” of the AI industry.
He also rejected calls for a slowdown in AI development until stronger safeguards are introduced, describing concerns about the technology’s potential dangers as a “hoax”.
Trump did not provide details about how the proposed AI Force would operate or when the new structure would be established.
“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,” he said, adding that the US should maintain its lead over China in AI.
Artificial intelligence has become a major area of competition between the US and China, with both countries seeking advances in increasingly powerful systems.
The technology is also expected to feature in discussions when Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
Trump said his administration would rely on existing criminal and civil justice systems to deal with people who misuse AI.
His announcement comes amid growing warnings from researchers and technology experts about the potential risks associated with increasingly advanced AI systems. Some researchers have warned that future systems could pose serious threats to humanity.
Major AI companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, have been developing increasingly advanced models while also reporting security incidents involving the misuse of their technologies.
Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has called for a slowdown in AI development and proposed greater regulation, industry-wide measures and independent monitoring of AI model development.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk have expressed support for some of his recommendations.
Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark also told the BBC that a third-party-verified “kill switch” could become mandatory for AI companies.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers have proposed legislation aimed at addressing the risks associated with AI.
Altman recently argued that governments have struggled to keep pace with the rapid development of the technology and said greater trust should be placed in AI companies to maintain safety.
In the UK, lawmakers have also raised concerns about the impact of AI on human rights.
A report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for new legislation to address what it described as the scale and seriousness of the risks posed by the technology.
