A new White House task force will produce a report assessing risks posed by artificial intelligence and what responsibility the US federal government should have over the technology.
The task force will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding he confirmed his role to the paper. It makes Clayton effectively the Trump administration’s new AI czar, a senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal.
“The president asked that a group be put together that was going to ensure exactly what he said, which is that we stay the leaders in superintelligence, and that the interests of the American people are put first,” the Journal cited Clayton as saying. A White House official confirmed the Journal report.
Despite growing concerns about security risks posed by AI, President Donald Trump has spurned calls for new regulations. Instead, he has prioritized keeping the US ahead of China and backed a voluntary framework involving outside safety audits and stronger internal controls.
“We have a very big lead, and we’re going to keep our lead, and it’s a very positive thing,” the president said during a meeting with industry executives this week.
The task force has been named the “Super Intelligence Force,” Trump’s preferred name for AI, and will have 120 days to prepare the report, the report said.
Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized prominent AI leaders’ warnings about existential risks posed by the technology as alarmist and unhelpful, calling on the industry to police itself and produce solutions.
“It is the people at the labs who have to accept responsibility, and I agree with that,” Bessent said in an Axios interview published Saturday. “I think the labs have come around to that way of thinking, too.”
–With assistance from Kate Sullivan.
(Adds White House response in third paragraph)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.