US President Donald Trump has named the director of national intelligence as the head of a new taskforce on AI which, he said, will coordinate government engagement with consumers, companies and “religious organizations”.
Jay Clayton will head a taskforce that has drawn criticism from the likes of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren who has called for regulation of AI.
Trump has rejected the idea of laws to control development of the technology despite a debate about the potential risks of AI and what it means for humanity.
Last week, the president and the heads of major AI firms signed a “morally binding” document, making them responsible for ensuring the safety of their own technology.
Trump – who is unilaterally attempting to rebrand AI as “super intelligence” – wrote on social media: “The Super Intelligence Force will coordinate the Federal Government’s engagement with Consumers, Public Interest Groups, Religious Organizations, Critical Infrastructure Providers, and Super Intelligence Companies.”
As well as Clayton, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Andrew Ferguson, head of the Federal Trade Commission, will be on the taskforce along with Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
It will report directly to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Trump has pushed back against any kind of slowdown on AI development. He said the US is leading the race ahead of China, adding: “And, frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins.”
President Xi Jinping recently travelled to Washington for a state visit. Days later, Trump ruled out a joint venture between the US and China to develop AI.
“If we do that, we’re going to be giving a lot of secrets that we have that they [China] would want to have, or anybody else,” he said.
The announcement of the taskforce follows growing pressure from prominent figures in the industry, including executives of OpenAI and Anthropic, to tighten regulation of the technology.
Trump first announced the taskforce in September, prompting Warren to state: “Congress cannot meet the pressing threat of AI by just forming another committee or continuing to have drawn-out discussions about it.”
She added: “Let’s actually pass some meaningful regulations on AI to protect people.”
