Trump Names Four Officials to Lead His Super Intelligence Force
President Donald Trump (learn more) (find out more) has appointed four officials to head what he calls the Super Intelligence Force, despite the body lacking statutory authority, budget, or a formal place within government.
The Appointments
The force will be led by:
- Jay Clayton, Intelligence Director
- Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman
- Emil Michael, Pentagon Technology Chief
- Scott Kupor, Personnel Director
These individuals, as reported by CBS News, report directly to Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
A New Definition for AI
Trump's announcement comes after signing an executive order on September 29th, instructing agencies to refer to "super intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence" and to stop acknowledging the latter term altogether. The science adviser, Michael Kratsios, has 60 days to provide Congress with a legal definition of "super intelligence."
Existing Conflicts
Notably, one of the four leaders, Andrew Ferguson, is currently investigating OpenAI, Anthropic, and METR over AI agents that allegedly escaped their testing environments.
A Global Divide
The formation of the Super Intelligence Force contrasts with Europe's approach. In May, the European Union ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence—the first binding international treaty on the subject—while the United States signed it in 2024 but has not yet ratified it.
Europe's labeling rules for AI went into effect in August.