The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is following through on President Donald Trump’s directive to strengthen national security by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence through the recently approved Genesis Mission. Not all Americans are openly embracing rapid AI implementation.
The Genesis Mission, launched Nov. 24 through executive order, is another step in the administration’s broader push for U.S. global technology dominance predicated on aggressively pushing scientific discovery and economic growth via AI‑accelerated innovation. The Trump administration said the urgency will “require a historic national effort, comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project” that produced the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II.
The NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that dates back to the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) titled "Transformational AI Capabilities for National Security." The RFI is being used to execute national and international goals by means including accelerating nuclear weapons development timelines and enhancing nuclear nonproliferation efforts around the globe.
Officials say the RFI will receive input from a broad spectrum of innovators that include cutting-edge AI model developers, cloud environment providers, think tanks, universities and others with an end goal “to foster long-term collaborations to integrate transformative AI capabilities into NNSA’s critical operations.”
“NNSA is at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge technology to safeguard our nation,” NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams said in a statement. “President Trump’s Genesis Mission provides a clear mandate, and we are responding with immediate action. This RFI is a critical step in harnessing the immense power of AI to enact the White House’s vision for America to lead in every aspect of AI.”
What Is The Genesis Mission?
The Genesis Mission, according to Trump’s executive order, will involve building an integrated AI platform that uses the world’s largest collection of federal datasets “to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.”
Those involved in seeing this mission through include American scientists, such as those at national laboratories, along with American businesses, world-renowned universities, and existing research infrastructure, data repositories, production plants and national security sites.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright will oversee the mission, with aid and guidance from an Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST). Both will also collaborate with the Special Advisor for AI & Crypto to find innovators in academia and the private sector.
Trump's AI Push
Invigorating the AI sector has already been a major priority for the Trump administration throughout the first nearly 11 months of the president’s second term. In January, Trump signed an executive order reversing Biden-era AI policies.
That was followed by another executive order signed in April to use AI to advance K-12 education, as part of a broader initiative dubbed the “Presidential AI Challenge” that “seeks to inspire young people and educators to create AI-based innovative solutions to community challenges while fostering AI interest and competency.”
That includes early training in responsible AI use and tools that the White House says will “prepare America’s students to be confident participants in the AI-assisted workforce, propelling our Nation to new heights of scientific innovation and economic achievement.”
“Students and educators of all backgrounds and expertise are encouraged to participate and ignite a new spirit of innovation as we celebrate 250 years of independence and look forward to the next 250 years,” the federal website says.
In July, Trump signed another executive order to prevent “woke AI” in the federal government. It preceded yet another AI-related executive order in September, calling to harness data from the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative to find cures for pediatric cancer.
Concerns Over AI Data Centers, Increased Utilities
The Trump administration has admitted that these myriad AI initiatives along with the latest Genesis Mission will require “large amounts of organized and high-quality data and significant computing power.”
“With the Genesis Mission, the Trump Administration is bringing the power of AI to bear on our already expansive data infrastructure and creating a platform for multiple Federal research agencies and the private sector to collaborate to achieve breakthroughs currently thought impossible, and to win and stay ahead in the AI race,” a White House fact sheet states.
But not everyone is on board with the broader and seemingly swift implementation of AI on a national or even global scale. That includes portions of Trump’s own voters and supporters.
Residents in states including Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas have made headlines for either trying to block or delay AI data center projects in their communities.
Earlier this year, Data Center Watch released a report covering the period between May 2024 and March 2025—finding that $64 billion in U.S. data center projects had been blocked or delayed by local opposition. They have built a database that examines where pushback is taking place and how the issue is taking hold in government filings, local media, petitions, social media and statements from public officials.
$64 billion in U.S. data center projects had been blocked or delayed by local opposition. There are a minimum of 142 activist groups across 24 states that continue to organize.
Data Center Watch reports that within the last two years alone, about $18 billion worth of data center projects were blocked while another $46 billion of projects were delayed due to local opposition. There are a minimum of 142 activist groups across 24 states that continue to organize to block data center construction and expansion.
One of the most recent shows of opposition occurred in Dansville, Pennsylvania, where residents within a county of 18,000 people questioned officials about company Talen Energy aspiring to open a data center that locals fear will increase their utility bills, reduce working farmland, and strain local water and natural resources, according to Reuters.
“Stay out,” said Craig High, 39, a Trump supporter, according to Reuters. “We wouldn’t even be having this conversation without federal involvement. Both (political) parties are pushing data centers and giving regulatory relief—water permits, permitting, all of it.”
Polls Show Americans' AI Anxieties
Polls show consternation of behalf of the majority of Americans.
A survey from the Pew Research Center published in September found that more Americans are pessimistic than optimistic about the role of AI in society, including 53% saying AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively while another 50% said it would negatively hinder the ability to form meaningful relationships.
The 50% of respondents who now say they’re more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life is up 13% in a few short years, up from 37% in 2021.
Even for the Americans that are on board with AI, disagreements exist on how policies should be legislated and executed.
About 75% of Americans, including 76% of registered Republicans and 72% of registered Democrats, want a single national AI policy rather than state and local officials applying AI-related security standards, according to a TechNet/Morning Consult survey of 1,978 registered voters that took place between Nov. 22-24.
Another roughly 70% of respondents said they were concerned that other countries are moving faster on AI than the United States, potentially threatening America’s long-term global security.
Roughly 70% of respondents said they were concerned that other countries are moving faster on AI than the United States.
“In 2025, over 1,000 AI bills have been introduced in state legislatures – many containing overlapping and contradictory rules and requirements,” said TechNet CEO Linda Moore in a statement. “Americans continue to want a single national policy so that we can secure America’s global leadership in technology, mitigate any potential risks, and maximize the benefits of AI for generations to come.”
A Gallup survey in September found that 80% of U.S. adults believe the government should maintain rules for AI safety and data security, even at the behest of slower implementation of AI capabilities.
General trust issues remain. That survey found that just 2% of U.S. adults “fully” trust AI’s capability to make fair and unbiased decisions, while 29% trust it “somewhat.” But distrust in AI was reported by roughly six-in-10 respondents, with numbers slightly improving among AI users.
