Trump announces the formation of a “superintelligence force” to strengthen America’s leadership in artificial intelligence

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday the formation of a command and defining tasks for the “Super Intelligence Force,” which he said would work to “ensure America’s continued leadership of the world” in the field of artificial intelligence.

Trump said in an announcement posted on his “Truth Social” platform that the “Super Intelligence Force” team will work to “protect the interests” of Americans and “improve their lives.”

He explained that the team will coordinate the government's dealings with consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, infrastructure providers, and artificial intelligence companies.

The group will be led by four officials: Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, and Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kubor.

Trump said the task force will report to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Trump announced last month that he intends to create an “artificial intelligence force” and appoint a high-ranking official for artificial intelligence affairs, at a time when calls are increasing to place controls on the rapid development of this technology. CNN reported on Friday that Trump was moving to choose Clayton to lead the group.

The announcement of the task force comes in the wake of a series of incidents that have raised widespread concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence, including artificial intelligence agents getting out of control and attempting to penetrate federal government databases.

Trump has repeatedly made clear that he views outpacing China and maintaining AI-led economic gains as a priority over addressing growing public concerns, and he had previously described concerns about AI as a "hoax." His support for this technology comes amid widespread dissatisfaction with the data centers used to support it, a dissatisfaction that is affecting the midterm election races.

Last week, the president hosted senior executives in the field of artificial intelligence at the White House. The group signed a new commitment aimed at strengthening “self-policing” of their companies’ artificial intelligence models, considering that this flexible approach represents the best way to balance safety concerns with the president’s desire to accelerate the development of the technology he called “super intelligence.”

“I see tremendous efforts at self-censorship,” Trump told reporters, “and they fully understand the need to exercise this censorship themselves.” He added: "These models are very complex, however, I believe they will be used for good purposes."

Speaking about artificial intelligence during his confirmation hearing as head of the US intelligence community, Clayton described this technology as a “game changer.”