U.S. President Trump announces an 'AI Force' modeled on the Space Force and plans to appoint an 'AI czar,' claiming AI could reach 25% of U.S. GDP.

Federal government-level AI initiative signals U.S. policy shift toward aggressive public-sector AI compute investment and could redirect defense/intelligence AI procurement toward domestic chip and data-center capacity.

Trade pressSlicast · September 20, 2026 at 08:52 UTC · Global · Source: The Decoder

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Donald Trump is doubling down on policies to keep AI development in the United States unchecked. In a Truth Social post, he framed criticism of AI and data centers as a left-wing attack, comparing it to what he characterized as misinformation surrounding Russia and climate change. US communities have increasingly opposed new data center developments, citing concerns about water usage, energy consumption, environmental impacts, and rising utility costs. Concerns about AI-driven job displacement have also grown.

Trump announced the creation of an "AI Force" modeled after the Space Force and said he would soon appoint an "AI czar"—though only candidates with a "high IQ" would qualify. He projected that AI could account for 25 percent of US economic output and pledged to preserve what he described as America's competitive advantage over China. Regarding potential AI-related harms, he stated he would rely on existing criminal and civil law rather than implement new regulations that could constrain growth.

These statements come after prominent warnings from AI laboratory leaders and mathematicians cautioning that the current pace of AI development could pose an existential risk to humanity.

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