President Trump expressed his passionate support for artificial intelligence, announcing the formation of an ‘AI Force’ to monitor the new technology in a push to rebrand ‘an attack on our data centers’ as a ‘Democrat hoax.’
The president posted a lengthy rant on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, likening concerns surrounding the environmental impact of data centers to climate change and a slew of other hot-button issues.
‘We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!’ Trump said of AI.
‘However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.’
He then unveiled the ‘AI Force’ and promised to appoint an ‘AI Czar’ to seemingly monitor AI development.
In a separate post, Trump pitched changing AI from ‘artificial intelligence’ to superior intelligence, extreme intelligence or supreme intelligence, branding the technology an ‘ever-growing revolution.’
The president offered limited details on how the AI Force would operate, but compared it to Space Force.
Trump launched Space Force in 2019 as the sixth branch of the US military. It is unclear if the AI Force would also fall under the Department of Defense.
Donald Trump announced the formation of a new department called the ‘AI Force’ in a Truth Social post on Saturday
Trump’s endorsement of AI comes as concerns about the technology grow. Protesters are seen above at a ‘Stop the AI Race’ demonstration in San Francisco on Thursday
Trump said the new ‘AI Force’ will help the US to develop the industry faster than China. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet to discuss AI next week
Trump concluded his post by encouraging only ‘high IQ’ individuals to apply to the czar position and calling AI the ‘next Industrial Revolution.’
‘We are leading China, and the rest of the world, and I intend to keep it that way!’ the president said.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. US officials have previously said that the two world leaders will discuss AI.
Both world powers have positioned AI as crucial to their economic strength and are racing to establish dominance in the field.
Trump’s doubling down on AI comes just a day after CNN revealed that an intelligence report generated with AI falsely identified material on a Chinese ship in the Middle East.
Multiple sources told the outlet that a US special operations analyst used an AI chatbot to analyze the Chinese ship’s manifest and incorrectly concluded that the vessel was shipping components of a nuclear weapons program.
Almost immediately, military planners began drafting plans to intercept the Chinese ship. Planes were already airborne as soldiers prepared.
However, just before the mission was set to launch, officials reviewed the intelligence assessment again and found it had been created with the help of AI. They soon realized that the tech had misidentified the material the ship was carrying.
Communities where AI data centers have been constructed have spoken out against them. Pictured above is the Stargate AI data center in Texas
One source called the AI report ‘entirely false.’ It also, they added, ‘almost started a war’ with China, as any military action against the ship could have sparked a conflict between the two superpowers.
The US’s emphasis on developing AI has boosted the stock market through data center construction, but criticism of the industry has mounted.
Former employees with major AI companies have sounded the alarm on the technology’s dangers.
Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, outlined in a series of social media posts why he resigned, accusing his company and OpenAI of ‘racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.’
The story quickly caught fire and prompted Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to say the company needed to slow down and warned that safeguards were necessary to prevent AI agents from taking over the internet within the next year.
Across the country, construction has plowed through rural neighborhoods to make way for data centers, which are massive facilities that store, process and manage digital data.
Although proponents argue they advance technology and provide jobs to surrounding communities, critics point to the centers’ environmental impact.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment and additional information.
