US President Donald Trump confirmed plans to appoint an AI 'czar' in the near future to lead the AI Force's regulatory efforts, with 'only High I.Q. individuals need apply' for the position. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump stated that 'the czar announcement would follow soon' and modeled the AI Force on the successful Space Force template from his first term. This confirmation follows earlier reports of the president's plans to create an 'AI Force' to oversee artificial intelligence technology regulation. If Trump follows through on the pledge, it would be his second AI czar appointment, as venture capitalist David Sacks previously served in the role before stepping down in March and moving into an external advisory position, now chairing the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's post regarding the appointment details.
A new UMass Amherst poll reveals that 65% of Americans do not want data centers in their communities, marking a dramatic shift in public opinion that crosses party lines. This represents a significant increase in opposition to AI infrastructure development, with the poll showing the rare issue that unites Democrats and Republicans in their concerns about artificial intelligence and data center expansion. The opposition has been further fueled by a terrifying warning from a former AI executive last week that AI could end civilization within a decade and that tech companies aren't doing enough to address these risks. The surge in public backlash comes as neither Democrats nor Republicans seem to have a good handle on what their positions are on AI regulation, creating a political minefield for candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. According to Trump, the effort started as an attack on data centers and fizzled once communities saw higher salaries, lower taxes, and safer streets.
Despite the mounting public opposition, US President Donald Trump has weighed into the controversies with what seems like reckless abandon in an election year. In the past week, Trump has come out in favor of data centers, telling voters that otherwise they'll be 'backwards and poor.' He has called fears over AI 'a hoax,' likening them to fears over climate change, and rejected calls for more regulation. Most notably, this week, he said he liked Flock cameras, despite jam-packed town halls full of angry citizens protesting the invasive technology. Trump's stance contrasts sharply with the growing public backlash, as neither Democrats nor Republicans seem keenly aware of this fact, potentially putting Republicans at risk of losing their majority this November. In a post on Truth Social, Trump drew parallels between warnings about artificial intelligence and autonomous robots and earlier forecasts of catastrophic consequences from climate change, portraying such predictions as examples of alarmism. He argued that some of the warnings surrounding emerging technologies were similarly exaggerated.
US President Donald Trump confirmed plans to appoint an AI 'czar' in the near future to lead the AI Force's regulatory efforts. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump stated that 'the czar announcement would follow soon' and modeled the AI Force on the successful Space Force template from his first term. This confirmation follows earlier reports of the president's plans to create an 'AI Force' to oversee artificial intelligence technology regulation. If Trump follows through on the pledge, it would be his second AI czar appointment, as venture capitalist David Sacks previously served in the role before stepping down in March and moving into an external advisory position, now chairing the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's post regarding the appointment details.
While Trump dismisses AI safety concerns as hoaxes, lab researchers are putting odds on the risks he calls manufactured. Marcus Williams, a member of OpenAI's Safety Oversight team, put the odds of human extinction at 70% within three years without regulation or a coordinated slowdown. Bilal Chughtai quit Google DeepMind's AGI safety team and said the technology could kill everyone, with an Anthropic researcher also publishing a similar warning in early September. Trump's post named Democrats as the source of the pressure on AI, but the loudest recent warnings have come from safety staff inside the lab building the technology. Trump gave no date for the czar announcement, and whom he picks will show how much weight the White House gives to the researchers now asking it to slow down.
