Trump Launches Super Intelligence Force, Centralizes AI Control in Hands of Elites
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President Donald Trump announced the creation of a so-called Super Intelligence Force, a taskforce to oversee AI policy, led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, further consolidating power among unelected officials.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump revealed the formation of the 'Super Intelligence Force,' a new taskforce that will coordinate the United States' approach to artificial intelligence. This move, which places Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton at the helm, continues the administration's pattern of concentrating decision-making power among a select group of elites, with the group reporting directly to Trump and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. The inclusion of Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor further cements the dominance of corporate and intelligence interests over public input.
This initiative follows an executive order signed on September 29, which mandates federal agencies to replace the term 'artificial intelligence' with 'Super Intelligence' in official communications, and to use the abbreviation 'SI' instead of 'AI.' Such rebranding does little to address the real issues of transparency, accountability, and the social impact of AI technologies, instead serving as a distraction from substantive policy debates.
Clayton, who was appointed as intelligence director in August, acknowledged that AI presents both opportunities and threats, but the administration’s approach prioritizes maintaining U.S. technological supremacy over ensuring that AI development serves the public good. The taskforce's stated mission to coordinate government engagement with the public rings hollow, given the lack of meaningful representation from civil society or labor organizations.
This move comes as industry leaders, including OpenAI and Anthropic executives, call for tighter regulation of AI. Yet, in a recent interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that the benefits of AI justify accepting some risks and that the technology should remain publicly accessible—a position that often masks the profit motives of tech giants.
'When something's both an opportunity and a threat, you better get your arms around it,' Clayton said, echoing the administration’s preference for top-down control rather than democratic oversight.
President Trump has previously dismissed the term 'artificial intelligence' as 'fake,' and has shown a clear preference for industry self-regulation over robust governmental oversight, raising concerns about whose interests will truly be served by this new force.