Clayton is expected to retain his intelligence post, combining the new role with oversight of 18 intelligence agencies. He has called superintelligence “a national security issue” while arguing against pausing AI development. The czar position has been vacant since David Sacks stepped down on March 26.
Trump announced plans for the AI Force on Sept. 19, comparing it to the Space Force. In his Sept. 22 address to the United Nations, he said US government documents would replace “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence,” arguing that “artificial” makes the technology sound fake. He also rejected international efforts to control AI and said, “We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in.”