US President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at critics of artificial intelligence and data centres, saying he would not allow the "destruction" of the industry and announcing the creation of a new government "AI Force."

Trump — who finds himself out of step with growing public scepticism over AI and dire safety warnings from AI industry leaders — said liberals want the "decimation, or destruction, of AI."

"I, as President of the United States, will not stand by and let this happen," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"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!"

Trump added, without explaining, that he was creating an "AI Force" that would be tasked with "looking for BAD" actors, and would soon announce an AI coordinator or "Czar."

Trump's latest full-throated defence of artificial intelligence came even though polls show Americans are largely opposed to allowing the energy-guzzling data centres that are the engines of AI to be built in their communities.

As the war against Iran drags on and Americans grapple with the inflation it has fuelled, Trump's approval rating is low.

Surveys suggest his Republican Party could lose control of the House and perhaps the Senate in November's midterm elections.

Trump is also firmly embracing the technology despite widespread warnings, even from top industry leaders, that AI development is going too fast and the technology could soon threaten humanity as ever-smarter AI agents escape the control of their human designers.

Jacob Coxon, a former AI researcher who worked at Anthropic before resigning, set off the latest round of alarm by describing how those building the technology "earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Trump has repeatedly dismissed all the doomsday talk, calling it a "hoax" — a term he often uses for crises or issues he cannot control. (AFP)



Edited by Tony Sabine