President Donald Trump on Sunday named National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton as his new artificial intelligence czar, filling a key vacancy ahead of the crucial midterm elections, with polls showing Americans holding increasingly skeptical views of AI.
The president announced on Truth Social the formation of a “Super Intelligence Force,” which he said would be 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.”
Trump said his administration’s new AI entity will also be led by Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research engineering, and Scott Kupor, director the Office of Personnel Management.
As use of AI becomes widespread, demands on its efficiency have led to stark warnings about its unregulated growth and its impact on the environment. Despite those concerns escalating in recent weeks, Trump has continued to dismiss the fears as a “hoax.”
Nonetheless, he announced his intent to name a new AI czar last month, along with his hope of creating a so-called AI Force, which he compared to the government’s Space Force initiative.
Clayton’s dual roles as national intelligence director and AI czar could prove to be an advantage for the administration as global concerns about the risks the technology poses to national security and cybersecurity have grown sharply. Still, juggling both roles simultaneously may present challenges.
“It’ll be interesting to watch whether he can manage the two major responsibilities, and also be up to speed on AI,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who has followed Clayton’s career since he served as Security and Exchange Commission chair during Trump’s first term. “It seems to me this new assignment might be even more daunting.”
Clayton gained the president’s trust after leading major institutions, including the SEC, Tobias noted, adding that he “knows how to deal with the press.”
Clayton is also the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He replaced David Sacks, a tech investor and co-host of the “All-In Podcast” who previously served as Trump’s AI and crypto czar. That temporary position as a special government employee expired back in March.
Sacks maintains deep inroads with tech leaders, and he remains an outside adviser to the president as co-chair of the Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.
Trump, like Sacks, opposes enforceable regulation of AI and has said the technology only needs “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.” The president also has touted how the technology has fueled growth in the U.S. stock market and emphasized the importance of competing with China in a race to lead the industry.
Trump has still taken to calling the software “super intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence,” seemingly an acknowledgment of its evolving abilities. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that AI would pose a risk to humanity itself. A whistleblower from the company recently described a scenario where the technology could take control of weaponry or pose other lethal threats to people.
Anthropic’s Amodei, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk and other tech executives recently gathered at the White House to sign onto a voluntary accord that laid out a set of principles for innovation. The document is largely symbolic since none of the pillars have been codified by law. Clayton also attended that meeting.
Trump wrote in his Truth Social post Sunday that the new government force “will coordinate the Federal Government’s engagement with Consumers, Public Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Critical Infrastructure Providers, and Super Intelligence Companies.”
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