A recent Truth Social post by President Trump suggests that he realizes he has to do something about AI but hasn’t figured out what yet:
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! However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System. For this purpose, I am forming the AI Force, much like I did Space Force, which has been a tremendous SUCCESS, in my First Term.
This “AI force” sounds like a contradiction. It might turn out to be no more than political lip service to the AI-worried public and to tech interests; a regulatory body that won’t do much regulating but purport to “help” the industry grow and to keep an eye on “BAD” actors. Creating a new bureau for AI management sounds remarkably similar to Bernie Sanders’s proposal to establish a cabinet-level agency to monitor frontier AI systems for dangerous capabilities. It’s hard to tell what Trump’s AI force would do differently. Does “helping” and “cherishing” the industry mean intervention in the opposite direction, i.e. subsidies? Favorable government contracts? Who’s to say?
The administration is currently hiring for the position of AI czar, Trump noted: “Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!”