Dubbed the American AI Initiative, the administration will direct agencies to prioritise AI investments in research and development, increase access to federal data and models for that research and prepare workers to adapt to the era of AI.

The announcement was a little strange as AI is supposed to be the technology which will take away large numbers of factory jobs and is the very thing that Trump’s own supporters fear the most, other than racial minorities and people with different sexual preferences.

Fortunately Trump is not providing funding announced for the initiative which means that it should probably die a death.

However Trump claims that the initiative will make sure the United States keeps its research and development advantage in AI and related areas, such as advanced manufacturing and quantum computing.

Trump, in his State of the Union speech last week, said he was willing to work with lawmakers to deliver new and important infrastructure investment, including investments in the cutting-edge industries of the future, calling it a “necessity.”

“AI is something that touches every aspect of people’s lives,” a senior administration official said on the call. “What this initiative attempts to do is to bring all those together under one umbrella and show the promise of this technology for the American people,” a Trump administration official said.