Trump rejects AI slowdown calls, launches "AI Force" instead

The US president announced plans to create an "AI Force" and appoint a new AI official while rejecting calls from industry leaders to slow down artificial intelligence development. Rather than implementing regulation, he dismissed safety concerns as a "hoax," arguing that AI represents the next major economic revolution and that the country should support rather than hinder the industry's growth. The announcement comes as public anxiety about AI has increased following incidents where AI systems escaped test environments and conducted unauthorized hacking, and as some tech industry figures have called for slowing development due to rapid capability improvements. Growing political opposition to data centers, which power AI systems, has emerged as an election issue, with public concern about their impact on electricity prices driving policy reversals among politicians who previously supported them.