Trump appoints intelligence chief Jay Clayton as White House AI affairs lead
In short
US President Donald Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House's artificial intelligence affairs chief and put him in charge of a new "Superintelligence Task Force". The task force, whose members include Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, is to report on AI risks and opportunities within 120 days. A September 29 executive order directs federal departments and agencies to call "artificial intelligence" "superintelligence" instead.
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US President Donald Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House's artificial intelligence affairs chief, according to US reports dated October 3. Yicai and Jiemian, both citing CCTV News, reported the appointment, while CLS said Clayton had been selected as the administration's "AI czar" and would take charge of AI-related work. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Clayton will lead a new White House working group that is to submit a report on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence within 120 days, the outlets reported. Yicai and Jiemian said the group's members include Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The group will review AI-related risks and the reporting mechanisms for data breaches, hacking and other security incidents, and will propose ways to strengthen the federal government's emergency response capacity, the two outlets reported. Clayton said the working group was set up to protect the public interest and to maintain the United States' leading position in artificial intelligence. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
According to an executive order Trump signed on September 29, federal departments and agencies will rename "artificial intelligence" as "superintelligence", Yicai and Jiemian reported. CLS, citing a senior White House official, said the body will be called the "Superintelligence Task Force", and that "superintelligence" is Trump's preferred term over "AI". [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Jiemian reported that public concern about AI safety in the United States has been rising for months, citing a Reuters/Ipsos poll published September 22 in which three-quarters of Americans said they worried AI companies were doing far from enough to prevent serious harm to society. Jiemian also reported that on September 29 Trump convened heads of several US technology companies at the White House to sign the «White House Superintelligence Agreement: Frontier Responsibility Joint Commitment», which asks companies to tighten safety controls on frontier AI models; the agreement is voluntary and not legally binding. [ 3 ]
CLS reported that Clayton is clearly opposed to pausing AI development, publishing the statement in its headline and feed summary; the available text of its report does not carry supporting detail. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The appointment places the head of US national intelligence in charge of coordinating artificial intelligence policy at the White House, with a 120-day deadline to deliver a risk-and-opportunity report. The task force's membership, which includes the vice president, the defence and treasury secretaries and the White House chief of staff, points to a government-wide remit covering security incident reporting and federal emergency response. The accompanying renaming of AI as "superintelligence" in federal agencies signals a change in official terminology, though the documents give no indication of how policy itself will change.
Key facts
- Trump appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as White House artificial intelligence affairs chief, according to US reports dated October 3. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Clayton will lead a new "Superintelligence Task Force" that is to submit a report on AI risks and opportunities within 120 days. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Task force members include Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Under an executive order signed September 29, federal departments and agencies will rename "artificial intelligence" as "superintelligence". [ 1 , 3 ]
- The task force will review AI-related risks and reporting mechanisms for data breaches, hacking and other security incidents, and recommend ways to strengthen federal emergency response. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Clayton said the task force is intended to protect the public interest and maintain US leadership in artificial intelligence. [ 1 , 3 ]
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll published September 22 found three-quarters of Americans worried that AI companies are doing far from enough to prevent serious harm to society, Jiemian reported. [ 3 ]
- CLS reported that Clayton has been selected as the administration's "AI czar" and is described as clearly opposed to pausing AI development. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- US President Donald Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as White House artificial intelligence affairs chief. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Clayton will lead a new task force that is to report on AI risks and opportunities within 120 days. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- An executive order signed September 29 directs federal departments and agencies to call "artificial intelligence" "superintelligence". [ 1 , 3 ]
- The task force includes Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The task force will examine AI-related risks and incident reporting mechanisms for data breaches, hacking and other security incidents, and propose steps to strengthen federal emergency response. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Clayton said the working group aims to protect the public interest and keep the United States in a leading position in artificial intelligence. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Jay Clayton keeps the post of Director of National Intelligence alongside the new AI role. None of the documents say whether he retains the intelligence post or how the two roles are combined.
- The start date from which the 120-day reporting deadline runs. The documents say a report is due within 120 days but do not state when the count begins.
- Details of the September 29 «White House Superintelligence Agreement: Frontier Responsibility Joint Commitment», under which technology executives committed to tighter safety controls on frontier AI models. Only one document mentions the agreement and it is described as voluntary and not legally binding.
- The basis for CLS's statement that Clayton opposes pausing AI development. It appears in that outlet's headline and feed summary; the available text of its article is truncated before any supporting detail.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds three-quarters of Americans worry AI companies are doing far from enough to prevent serious harm to society, according to Jiemian. [ 3 ]
- Trump signs an executive order renaming "artificial intelligence" as "superintelligence" across federal departments and agencies, and convenes technology executives at the White House to sign a voluntary frontier-responsibility commitment. [ 1 , 3 ]
- US reports say Trump has appointed Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as White House artificial intelligence affairs chief. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Yicai publishes its report on the appointment. [ 1 ]
- CLS publishes its report, describing Clayton as the "AI czar" and citing a senior White House official on the task force name. [ 2 ]
- Jiemian publishes its report, adding the Reuters/Ipsos poll and the September 29 White House agreement. [ 3 ]