President Trump’s appointment of four top officials to lead his newly created “Super Intelligence Force” (SIF) offers a rare glimpse into how his administration intends to navigate the contentious politics of artificial intelligence. The picks, announced over the weekend, come after months of mixed signals from the White House on AI policy, as the president faces mounting pressure from both industry leaders and safety advocates over the technology’s risks.
Trump, who now prefers the term “super intelligence” to describe AI, tapped Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to chair the SIF. The task force is charged with exploring both the benefits and potential dangers of AI, and with ensuring the United States maintains its competitive edge in the global race. Joining Clayton as vice chairs are Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer; Andrew Ferguson, chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Jay Clayton: The Steady Hand
Clayton, who took over as DNI in August after serving as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has long enjoyed Trump’s confidence. The president once called him a “strong fighter for the truth.” As head of the intelligence community, Clayton oversees 18 agencies that are increasingly involved in testing and evaluating AI systems. While he lacks a direct tech background, his legal and Wall Street credentials—he chaired the SEC during Trump’s first term—are likely to shape his approach.
At a White House meeting last week with tech executives, Clayton echoed Trump’s stance against slowing AI development. “To take a pause… to somehow say, ‘We should back away from this and let the rest of the world develop these models’—I don’t think anyone in that room, anyone in America should think that’s a good strategy,” he told CNBC. He framed AI as a “national security issue” and left open the possibility of government action through the Justice Department or FTC if necessary.
Emil Michael: The Pentagon’s Hawk
Michael, a former Uber executive now serving as undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering, has taken a hard line on AI. He was central to the Pentagon’s clash with Anthropic, the maker of the Claude model, over safety guardrails in a contract. After negotiations collapsed, the Defense Department labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk—a designation usually applied to foreign adversaries. Michael has continued to criticize the firm, even after an Anthropic policy official voiced support for an administration official’s critique of Chinese AI distillation. In a social media post after his appointment, Michael touted the benefits of cutting red tape, saying, “Working alongside America’s leading technology companies, we are putting the most advanced SI capabilities into the hands of our warfighters at speed and scale.”
Andrew Ferguson: The Big Tech Skeptic
Ferguson, a former antitrust litigator, represents the GOP’s more skeptical wing regarding Big Tech. While he favors light-touch regulation overall, he has been critical of tech giants on consumer protection and children’s online safety. Trump praised Ferguson’s “proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship” when nominating him to lead the FTC. Ferguson has inherited antitrust cases against Meta and Amazon, and despite reported settlement efforts by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, the FTC has moved forward with a high-profile trial against the social media giant.
A Divided Task Force
The SIF’s composition highlights a fundamental tension within the Trump administration: some officials, like Michael, advocate for minimal oversight and maximum speed, while others, like Ferguson, are willing to use regulatory tools to check corporate power. The task force has 120 days to report on AI’s risks and benefits, and to recommend a government role. The White House says it will coordinate with consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and AI companies.
Trump has dismissed concerns raised by executives like Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman about AI “going rogue” as a “hoax,” insisting the U.S. must forge ahead to outpace China. The SIF’s work will be closely watched as a barometer of how the administration balances innovation with oversight—and whether the competing views inside the task force can be reconciled.
