As promised, President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new superintelligence force, saying it would be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and other members of his administration.
“The Superintelligence Corps is tasked with coordinating the federal government’s efforts to ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in superinformation technology, which many believe is bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the Internet, and will protect the interests and improve the lives of all Americans,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social network Sunday morning.
Back in September, in response to the AI safety debate, which the president largely dismissed as a hoax created by “radical left-wing Democrats,” President Trump said he still intended to form an AI army and appoint an AI czar (“Only high-IQ individuals should apply!”).
President Trump has since signed an executive order calling for AI to be rebranded as “superintelligence,” a term that tech executives who gathered at the White House this week to sign a non-binding security pledge appeared to embrace, with some stumbles. (The pledge contained an impressive typo.)
So it’s no surprise that President Trump’s new task force would be named according to this new branding. The Wall Street Journal reports that Creighton will chair the super-intelligence force, effectively becoming the new AI/SI czar, with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of the Army for Research and Engineering Emile Michael, and Director of Personnel Management Scott Cooper serving as vice chairs.
The task force will reportedly take 120 days to produce a report on the risks and opportunities posed by AI. Clayton, who previously said it would be irresponsible for the U.S. to “step back” from AI while countries like China advance, made similar comments to the Journal, arguing that one of the biggest risks is “not being in the lead.”
According to the report, the task force’s charter states that it will “develop a plan to address SI-enabling threats to society while preventing over-regulation and regulatory capture that stifle innovation and competition.”
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