Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
President-elect Trump is considering naming an AI czar in the White House to coordinate federal policy and governmental use of the emerging technology, Trump transition sources told Axios.
Why it matters: Elon Musk won't be the AI czar, but is expected to be intimately involved in shaping the future of the debate and use cases, the sources said.
Behind the scenes: We're told the role is likely but not certain.
- Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — who are leading Trump's new outside-government group, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — will have significant input into who gets the role.
- Musk — who owns a leading AI company, xAI — has feuded publicly with rival CEOs, including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Google's Sundar Pichai. Rivals worry Musk could leverage his Trump relationship to favor his companies.
The big picture: Trump, partly in response to the enlarged coalition that fueled his victory, plans to be super attentive to emerging technologies.
- Trump's transition has vetted cryptocurrency executives for a potential role as the first-ever White House crypto czar, Bloomberg reported last week.
- The AI and crypto roles could be combined under a single emerging-tech czar.
Zoom in: The AI czar will be charged with focusing both public and private resources to keep America in the AI forefront.
- The federal government has a tremendous need for AI technology, and the new czar would likely work with agency chief AI officers (which were established in President Biden's AI executive order, and could survive Trump).
- The person also would work with DOGE to use AI to root out waste, fraud and abuse, including entitlement fraud.
- The office would spur the massive private investment needed to expand the energy supply to keep the U.S. on the cutting edge.
The backstory: The idea has been kicking around Trumpworld for several months, as the transition considered structural changes at the White House to prioritize staffing for Trump's priorities.
- The model is similar to the National Energy Council that Trump said will be chaired by his designee for Interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Trump's Energy nominee, fracking executive Chris Wright, will be a member of the council.
- Trump's announcement said the council "will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy."
- "This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation."
💬 Our thought bubble, from Axios technology policy reporter Maria Curi: An AI czar wouldn't require Senate consent, allowing the person to get to work on the administration's goals faster.
- The Biden administration, facing a slim majority in the Senate and a tough confirmation battle, never filled the role of U.S. chief technology officer, created by President Obama.
- Instead, other senior officials at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) took the lead. Vice President Harris played a key ambassador-like role on AI.