President Donald Trump is staring down a potential beating in the midterms, throwing spaghetti at the wall to bring down gas prices, and threatening once again to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic of Iran. And speaking of consequential matters, he might soon shift Scott Bessent from his role as Treasury Secretary to the role of AI Czar, according to an anonymously-sourced report from Semafor.
Semafor says the White House is also considering Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios or Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor for the role. The publication cites “three sources familiar with the matter.”
Bessent is already considered an AI authority within the Trump Administration. He even had a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Sunday in which he attempted to hash out a plan for joint AI safety measures that both countries could live with. While speaking about the talks, he told CNBC this week, “When President Trump talked about appointing an AI Czar, I think it is to put context, shape and contours around these questions, and they’re very important.”
Trumps recent run of, let’s call it, very enthusiastic AI boosterism might have left you with the impression that “AI Czar” will be a new position, but it isn’t exactly. David Sacks, a tech VC billionaire and podcaster, was Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar until March, when he had to step down due to rules placed on special government employees.
Trump announced he was seeking a new AI Czar in a Truth Social post over the weekend, in which he also said he would create an “AI Force.” The announcement came amid a series of other pro-AI social media posts, and claimed that “We”—meaning either his administration or the entire U.S.— will “cherish” AI, and that “we” are going to “help it, and watch over it, as it grows! However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.” So that’s the blueprint, in case you had any questions.
Just generally, he seems to love generative AI, and the memes it creates. A recent frenzy of AI posts drew expressions of concern for his wellbeing, including one from his own former staffer.
On September 19, he posted that he was planning to change the name of AI, and was allowing his social media followers to help pick a new name via polls. The options were originally Superior Intelligence (SI), Extreme Intelligence (EI), or Supreme Intelligence (SI). Superior Intelligence won both polls, but to cut a long story short he ran two further polls, and landed on “Super Intelligence” as the winner. He now claims he’s going to use the term “Super Intelligence” on official government documents now.
Over the summer, as AI security stories dominated the news cycle, Scott Bessent’s attention largely shifted to AI, according to an earlier story from Semafor. So despite the rumored move seeming to place Bessent on a somewhat puzzling career trajectory, it may simply suit his predilections more than his job running the U.S. Treasury. However, it’s now plausible that Bessent, if he’s selected for the role, could be appointed “Super Intelligence Czar” which might not be as appealing.