Trump announces ‘Super Intelligence Force’ led by DNI Jay Clayton

President Trump on Sunday morning announced the creation of the “Super IntelligenceForce” amid his push to keep the U.S. in the lead on artificial intelligence development after warnings from the technology’s researchers.

The task force will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, whom The Wall Street Journal reported is expected to be named Trump’s AI czar.

“The Super Intelligence Force is tasked with coordinating the effort of the Federal Government to ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence, which many say is bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and the Internet, and will protect the interests, and improve the lives, of all Americans,” the president wrote on Truth Social, adding that the group “will coordinate the Federal Government’s engagement with Consumers, Public Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Critical Infrastructure Providers, and Super Intelligence Companies.”

The other members of the force are Andrew Ferguson, chair of Federal Trade Commission; Emil Michael, undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering; and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management.

It’s unclear if the announcement doubles as Trump officially naming Clayton to the AI czar position the president created. He has already ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the role.

Trump has sought to rebrand AI as “super intelligence.” He recently signed a pledge with tech executives that put the name in writing across the executive branch. Diplomats have also been ordered by the State Department to use the term. The moves have been part of his push to reclaim the narrative on AI as researchers say its development could threaten humanity.

The pledge lays out a series of voluntary commitments for AI developers, including a promise to build internal controls and detection capabilities. Trump said after the pledge was signed that he was considering forming a committee that can “watch over the whole entity.” It’s possible that the “Super Intelligence Force” will act as this committee.

The president and other top Republicans have spoken of the need to stay ahead of China on AI development. Trump said recently that Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to like referring to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence” during his state visit to Washington.

“Superintelligence” is already defined in the technology space as a hypothetical AI agent that outperforms all of humanity’s cognitive performance.