President Donald Trump has characteristically responded to the recent debate over AI safety: declaring that these concerns are part of a long series of hoaxes “generated by radical left dumocrats, with the purpose of destroying our country.” On Saturday, Trump began his reflections on AI by writing on his social network Truth Social that “many people think that the words ‘Artificial Intelligence’ are inaccurate and very ineloquent in relation to AI or Artificial Intelligence.” He then posted a poll where followers could vote on a new name for the technology: Higher Intelligence, Extreme Intelligence, or Supreme Intelligence. (Poll is still ongoing at the time of publication) A couple of hours later, Trump followed up with a post claiming that attempts to “decimate or destroy AI” are one of “many” Democratic hoaxes, similar to “RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, Global Warming, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, Men in Women’s Sports, [and] Transgender for everyone.” Trump then insisted that he “will not stand by and let this happen,” adding that this so-called hoax “started with an attack on our data centers, until people realized how rich and prestigious they were for the communities in which they were built.” But after, in his words, “the maddened attack on the data center has largely failed,” critics are “going straight to AI.” Trump offered no evidence to back up his claim. that widespread suspicion about AI and data centers is neither organic nor sincere. (Both Republicans and Democrats have taken aim at data centers, with New York recently becoming the first state to suspend permits for large projects.) The president’s post also echoes his comments at a golf tournament last weekend, when he said he is open to “guardrails,” but also argued, “I think there are a lot of negative forces bringing up the issue that shouldn’t be done.” Saturday, Trump went on to say that he “will appreciate [the AI industry,] help him and keep an eye on him as he grows,” but he is also forming an AI Force, similar to the Space Force he established in his first term. “To that end, I will, in the near future, announce the AI ‘czar’: only people with high IQs should apply!” he added. The president did not say what the duties of the AI Force and the AI czar will entail. Venture capitalist Daivd Sacks resigned as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar. Trump’s presidency earlier this year and went on to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The debate over AI safety intensified recently after an AI researcher said he was leaving Anthropic over concerns that major AI companies “seriously believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade” and are “playing with our lives.” by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Critics of the AI industry have suggested that many of these concerns around the technology’s supposed existential threat are a distraction from the more immediate harms of AI Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, calling Trump on stage during the All-In Summit (which Sacks co-hosts), agreed with the president that the AI reaction is a “hoax.” and insisted that “we will not allow” a slowdown to occur. When you buy through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
