Trump Intelligence Chief in Charge of AI Policy
by: Marcus Webb

Trump Puts the Intelligence Chief in Charge of AI Policy

President Trump on Sunday put Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, in charge of a new federal task force on artificial intelligence, which Trump has named the Super Intelligence Force. Announcing it on Truth Social, Trump said the group would “coordinate the Federal Government’s engagement with Consumers, Public Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Critical Infrastructure Providers, and Super Intelligence Companies,” CNBC reported.

Its other named members are Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, and Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s under secretary for research and engineering, according to NBC News, NPR and CNBC. The task force will report to Trump and to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

The intelligence chief’s second job

The appointment puts AI policy under the official who runs the U.S. intelligence community.

Clayton was confirmed as director of national intelligence in July and sworn in as the ninth person to hold the job in August, after Tulsi Gabbard’s departure, The National reported. According to his official biography, he oversees the National Intelligence Program and integrates intelligence activities across the government. He chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020.

The reports describe Clayton taking on the AI role while remaining director of national intelligence. He is the administration’s second AI czar. Venture capitalist David Sacks held the title until March, when he said his time as a special government employee had ended, CNBC reported.

Clayton has signaled how he sees the technology. In a CNBC interview last month, he called super intelligence a “national security issue,” and he rejected calls from industry leaders for a pause in development, noting that other countries were pressing ahead, NPR and SiliconANGLE reported. “I don’t think any American should think that that’s a good strategy,” he said.

What the task force is meant to do

The group has 120 days to report on the technology’s risks and opportunities and on the federal government’s responsibilities, CNBC reported. Clayton described the same deadline to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported his appointment on Saturday. According to SiliconANGLE, the group’s charter directs it to “develop plans for responding to SI-enabled threats to our society, while preventing overregulation and regulatory capture that would stifle innovation and competition.”

SiliconANGLE, citing the Journal, also reported that Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve on the task force, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Sacks advising from outside government. NBC News, NPR and CNBC did not include them in the members they reported from Trump’s post.

How much the group can do is an open question. Congress has not passed a law broadly regulating the development or use of AI, NPR noted, and some states, including California, have passed their own rules.

How the White House got here

The task force caps a month of moves. In a Sept. 19 Truth Social post, Trump described fears about the technology’s dangers as a “hoax” and said he would create a new “AI Force,” CNBC and SiliconANGLE reported. On Sept. 29, six technology leaders signed a voluntary safety accord at the White House, and Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to call the technology “super intelligence.” Clayton attended that meeting with the tech executives, NBC News reported.

Our earlier coverage: Tech Chiefs Sign Voluntary SI Safety Accord at White House and, in Opinion, Same Patty, New Menu: Washington Renames AI.

Trump Puts the Intelligence Chief in Charge of AI Policy

Sources

Leave a Reply