Trump appoints National Intelligence Chief Clayton to lead the newly established interdepartmental task force "Superintelligence Force" and also serve as artificial intelligence czar

U.S. President Trump announced on the 4th that Jay Clayton, the current Director of National Intelligence (DNI), will lead the newly established interdepartmental task force "Super Intelligence Force" (SIF) and also serve as the "Artificial Intelligence Czar" (AI czar). This unprecedented appointment puts the United States’ top intelligence chief at the same time in charge of national AI policy, demonstrating that the White House has promoted AI technology as a core strategic asset for national competitiveness and geopolitical confrontation.

According to reports from the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, Trump repackaged AI as "superintelligence." He posted on the social platform "Real Community" that the SIF was established to coordinate the work of the federal government and "ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in the field of superintelligence. Many people believe that this change is more significant than the Industrial Revolution and the Internet, and will protect and improve the lives of all Americans."

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Clayton’s personnel case affects the global technological ecology and geostrategic nerves. Creighton, 60, holds degrees in engineering and law from the University of Pennsylvania and an economics degree from the University of Cambridge. He was a senior partner at the well-known Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. He was appointed by Trump as chairman of the U.S. Securities Commission (SEC) in 2017. He served as the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York at the beginning of Trump’s second term, and was subsequently confirmed by the Senate to take over as the director of national intelligence in the middle of this year.

Cretton is regarded by the industry as one of the few atypical bureaucrats who enjoys the high trust of both Trump and technology giants. He has been prudent in enforcing the law at the Securities and Exchange Commission in the past. The market expects that he will not push for cumbersome and stringent regulations. Instead, he will continue Trump's policy of "not slowing down the pace of the industry" and is committed to establishing clear policy guidelines and supervising the implementation of self-examination by the technology industry. The report pointed out that placing the AI ​​business under the jurisdiction of the country’s top intelligence chief shows that Washington has positioned AI as a core weapon for national security, information security protection, and countering China’s geopolitical competition.

In addition to Clayton, the core members of the newly established "Super Intelligence Force" also include Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon Chief of Technology Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor. In addition, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will also join the group. External advisors include the first AI czar David Sacks and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The team will report directly to Trump himself and Wells.

In the next 120 days, the task force will comprehensively assess the opportunities and risks that AI brings to U.S. national security and economy, and submit an audit report on the federal government’s defense capabilities against information security vulnerabilities, data leaks, and abnormal model behavior. In addition, the group will also listen to opinions from consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, critical infrastructure operators and technology companies.

A few days before this appointment was announced, Trump had just convened the top executives of many technology giants, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsoft, to sign a voluntary agreement committing to security self-discipline and self-examination of AI models. Trump said that the agreement is "morally binding."

The analysis pointed out that although Clayton lacks a traditional technology venture capital background, his profound experience in operating federal regulations and bureaucratic systems makes him the best candidate to coordinate various ministries. Aalok Mehta, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, pointed out that Clayton’s task is to keep government policies consistent and not hinder innovation, but the challenges he is about to face, including the security risks of autonomous AI systems, overseas cognitive operations and public concerns, are heating up at an extremely fast pace. With the full involvement of the national intelligence system, the development of AI in the United States has officially entered a new strategic stage in which national security is the primary consideration.