The White House has convened what President Trump calls a "Super Intelligence Force" — a 120-day task force charged with mapping the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence while ensuring the United States stays ahead of its adversaries.
Jay Clayton, the current US Director of National Intelligence, is widely reported to be the task force's leader, though his appointment has not been formally confirmed. He would succeed venture capitalist David Sacks, who held the informal "AI czar" role earlier in Trump's second term before stepping down.
"The president asked that a group be put together that was going to ensure exactly what he said — that we stay the leaders in superintelligence, and that the interests of the American people are put first," Clayton told the Wall Street Journal. He added: "The risk of not being first is high."
Clayton, a longtime Wall Street lawyer who represented Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis and Barclays in its purchase of Lehman Brothers' assets, was tapped by Trump to lead federal prosecutions in Utah before his current intelligence role.
The task force's mandate covers both offensive and defensive dimensions of AI governance — from ensuring American companies can build frontier models without regulatory friction, to identifying vulnerabilities that adversaries might exploit. The 120-day window suggests urgency: the administration wants a report and actionable recommendations before the end of the year.
For the global AI industry, the signal is clear: the US intends to compete on speed, not caution. How that posture affects international coordination on AI safety remains an open question.
