U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the creation of an “AI Force,” to be led by an adviser described as an “AI czar.” In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his administration would not restrain the growth of the artificial intelligence industry, but would instead support and oversee it, while relying on the existing criminal and civil justice system to address harmful uses.
Trump did not provide further details. His announcement came after a week of friction across the AI sector, with Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI calling for a slowdown in model development, while Nvidia and Meta played down safety concerns.
AI is also expected to be a central issue at this week’s state meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Over the weekend, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York. According to CNBC, the two sides described the talks as successful and agreed to establish a “U.S.-China AI Dialogue,” including a notification mechanism for AI incidents.
Thursday’s state dinner is also expected to draw several top business leaders. CNBC sources say JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, OpenAI chief Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang are among those expected to attend. So far, there are no confirmed Chinese CEOs on the guest list.
CNBC’s roundup also noted broader political developments affecting markets and business sentiment. In Europe, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing mounting pressure after fresh regional election setbacks for his party. In Russia, the ruling pro-Putin party is on track to win the parliamentary election following a tightly managed weekend vote that coincided with what Moscow said was Ukraine’s largest drone attack yet on the Russian capital.
The source also highlighted another Trump statement, in which he said the large arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery could become a “military complex” capable of hosting drones, snipers and ammunition.
