Trump announces “Super Intelligence Force” to coordinate US AI policy
Version 2: Fresh coverage from Yomiuri, Nippon TV and Gigazine fills out the announcement: a Wall Street Journal-sourced plan for a 120-day assessment of AI’s risks and opportunities, a four-official leadership line-up with Clayton described as chair and the others as vice-chairs, and a quotation from the intelligence chief, while the documents still say Trump gave no operational details.
In short
US President Donald Trump said on October 4 that he is creating a “Super Intelligence Force” (SIF) to coordinate federal artificial intelligence policy, announcing it on social media. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson will lead it, reporting to Trump and chief of staff Susie Wiles; a tech outlet says four officials head it. Trump gave few details, and Jiji Press and Yomiuri, citing the Wall Street Journal, said the force will report on AI’s risks and opportunities within 120 days.
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US President Donald Trump said on October 4 that he is creating a “Super Intelligence Force” (SIF) to coordinate federal artificial intelligence policy, announcing it on his social media account. The name uses the term “super intelligence”, or SI, which Trump has promoted in place of AI. Japanese outlets reported the announcement within hours of his post. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
According to the outlets, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson will lead the force. The tech outlet ITmedia AI+ reported that four officials head it, also naming Emil Michael, an undersecretary for research and engineering and chief technology officer, and Scott Cooper, director of the Office of Personnel Management. The force reports to Trump and to chief of staff Susie Wiles, the outlets said. Gigazine described Clayton as chair and the other three as vice-chairs, and quoted Clayton as saying that the United States being at the top would allow it to address risks from hostile forces more appropriately. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Trump said on social media that the force’s task is to coordinate federal efforts so the United States continues to lead the world and to protect the interests of all Americans and improve their lives, according to Jiji Press, Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon TV News. The force will coordinate the federal government’s engagement with consumers, public-interest and religious groups, critical infrastructure operators and AI companies. [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Trump did not give details, the outlets said. Jiji Press and Yomiuri, citing the Wall Street Journal, reported that the force will assess AI’s risks and opportunities and report to the government within 120 days, and that it will review how threats to society and hacking-related reports to the government are handled; Sankei Shimbun’s headline also said a risk report would come within 120 days. The documents do not say whether officials have confirmed that account. [ 4 , 7 , 10 ]
The announcement follows a September sequence reported by ITmedia AI+ and Sankei Shimbun: Trump said on September 19 that he would create an “AI Force” and name an “AI czar”, then said in a UN General Assembly speech on September 22 that AI would be called “super intelligence”. On September 29 he met AI industry executives at the White House — among them Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella — signed an executive order directing federal agencies to use “SI” instead of “AI”, and the executives signed a voluntary document called the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence”, which Trump called “historic”, ITmedia AI+ reported. Yomiuri said the approach aims at AI safety while leaving it basically to voluntary self-regulation by companies. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 11 ]
ITmedia AI+ reported that Trump’s post did not explain how the earlier “AI Force”, the “AI czar” and an oversight committee relate to the new force. One TBS NEWS DIG summary described the body’s purpose as monitoring malicious uses of AI, while other outlets described it as coordinating AI policy. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]
Why it matters
The announcement sets up a White House body to coordinate AI policy, headed by the intelligence and competition chiefs, alongside a push to call AI “super intelligence” in federal documents. Because the leadership includes the head of the FTC, which handles competition and consumer protection, and because the September accord involved major US technology companies, the arrangement could shape how AI companies are regulated and how Washington engages them. The documents give no authority, budget or staffing for the force, so its practical effect is not yet clear.
Key facts
- Trump said on October 4, via social media, that he is creating a task force to coordinate US federal artificial intelligence policy. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- The body is named the Super Intelligence Force (SI Force / SIF), using Trump’s promoted term “super intelligence” instead of AI. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson will lead it, according to the outlets. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- ITmedia AI+ reported the force will be led by four officials, also including Emil Michael, an undersecretary for research and engineering and chief technology officer, and Scott Cooper, director of the Office of Personnel Management. [ 5 ]
- The force will report to the president and to chief of staff Susie Wiles, and will coordinate with consumers, religious and public-interest groups, critical infrastructure operators and AI companies. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Jiji Press, Yomiuri and Sankei, the first two citing the Wall Street Journal, said SIF will assess AI’s risks and opportunities and report within 120 days. [ 4 , 7 , 10 ]
- Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to use “SI” instead of “AI”, and technology executives signed a voluntary document called the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence”, which Trump called “historic”. [ 4 , 5 , 10 , 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Trump announced the creation of a government body to coordinate artificial intelligence policy on October 4 through social media. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- The body is named the Super Intelligence Force, or SI Force, using the “SI” term in place of AI. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and FTC chair Andrew Ferguson are to lead it. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- The force will report to the president and to chief of staff Susie Wiles, and will coordinate with consumers, public-interest and religious groups, critical infrastructure operators and AI companies. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Trump said the aim is for the United States to keep leading the world in AI and that the work should protect the interests of all Americans and improve their lives. [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Still unclear
- What powers, budget or staffing the SI Force will have The documents describe it as a coordinating task force but give no authority or resource details, and Jiji Press says Trump did not explain the specifics.
- How the previously announced “AI Force”, the “AI czar” and an oversight committee relate to the SI Force ITmedia AI+ reports that Trump’s October 4 post did not explain the relationship to the earlier September plans.
- The force’s work programme, including the 120-day review Reported as coming from the Wall Street Journal and cited by several outlets, but not stated by officials in the documents.
- The full membership of the force ITmedia AI+ names four leaders, while other outlets name only two, and none lists the wider membership.
- The force’s purpose One TBS NEWS DIG summary describes the aim as monitoring malicious uses of AI, while other outlets describe the body as coordinating AI policy.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TBS NEWS DIG reports that Trump announced on social media the creation of a “Super Intelligence Force” (SI Force) intended to monitor malicious uses of AI, with Director of National Intelligence Clayton among those in charge. [ 1 ]
- Sankei Shimbun reports Trump formally announced the government AI policy coordination body, named SI Force, with Clayton and FTC chair Ferguson leading it and reporting to Trump and chief of staff Wiles. [ 2 ]
- TBS NEWS DIG, citing Bloomberg, reports Clayton will head the White House AI working group amid rising concern over the safety of rapidly advancing AI. [ 3 ]
- Jiji Press reports from Washington that the task force will be established, and cites the Wall Street Journal that it will assess AI’s risks and opportunities over 120 days. [ 4 ]
- ITmedia AI+ reports SIF will be led by four officials — Clayton, Ferguson, Emil Michael and Scott Cooper — and will report directly to the president and Wiles. [ 5 ]
- Sankei Shimbun reports the establishment announcement and that the intelligence chief leads the body, with a risk report within 120 days. [ 7 ]
- Nippon TV News reports the organisation will be called SI Force and quotes Trump saying it is tasked with coordinating federal efforts so the US keeps leading the world and Americans’ quality of life improves. [ 9 ]
- Yomiuri Shimbun reports the announcement, the leadership, the 120-day WSJ-sourced reporting plan and the September 29 meeting with AI executives. [ 10 ]
- Gigazine reports Clayton as chair and Ferguson, Michael and Cooper as vice-chairs, and quotes Clayton on dealing with risks from hostile forces. [ 11 ]