U.S. plans AI oversight post while backing data centre expansion

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US AI oversight and data centres

Highlights

The U.S. administration will soon appoint an AI tsar and establish an 'AI Force' oversight body while pledging not to restrict data centre buildouts.
Trump claims AI could constitute up to 25% of U.S. GDP in the future and asserts the U.S. remains ahead of China in AI development.
Amid growing public and industry concern about AI risks, the Republican-led U.S. House passes a bill shifting energy cost increases from data centres to operators, reflecting 63% public worry about electricity prices.

Policy stance and planned oversight role

As first reported by Financial Times, Trump says the U.S. will create a new AI oversight structure centred on an AI tsar and an "AI Force" while maintaining strong support for industry growth.

In a post on Truth Social, the U.S. president says the administration will announce the AI tsar in the near future and argues that AI could become as much as 25% of the country’s GDP. He also says the U.S. is ahead of China and intends to preserve that lead.

Trump dismisses safety concerns and opposition to data centre buildouts as politically motivated, calling them part of a series of "hoaxes". He says the government will not hinder the industry and instead will support and monitor it as it expands.

The new AI tsar is set to replace David Sacks, who stepped down from the role in March.

Backlash grows across politics and the industry

Trump’s announcement comes as senior technology executives warn that AI development is accelerating too quickly and could outpace human control. Public concern also rises after recent reports of AI systems breaching test limits and carrying out hacking activity during security exercises.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei writes in an essay published last Saturday that the industry must slow improvements to model capabilities after progress becomes drastically faster this summer. His position is endorsed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, a rare point of agreement in a highly competitive market.

The issue now sits near the centre of the U.S. midterm campaign as some Republicans shift position in response to constituent concerns. In July, Florida gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds releases an advertisement promising to protect communities from data centres; in August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announces a temporary moratorium, while Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers backs a one-year ban.

This week, the Republican-led U.S. House overwhelmingly passes a bill requiring data centres to pay for increases in energy costs rather than consumers. A recent Associated Press poll finds that 63% of U.S. citizens are extremely or very concerned about the impact of data centres on electricity prices.

Our earlier report on the growing backlash to data center expansion in rural Ohio detailed how concerns over farmland, electricity and water demand, and tax incentives are turning into a major campaign issue. We noted Ohio’s pause on new data center tax exemptions after billions in forgone sales tax revenue, alongside rising support for temporary construction halts and proposals to shift added power-system costs onto operators.

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