Donald Trump has set up a task force led by Jay Clayton to review AI risks, opportunities and federal oversight. The move follows a White House accord on voluntary safeguards as pressure grows over fast-advancing AI systems.
US President Donald Trump has created a task force to examine the risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and recommend what role the federal government should play in overseeing the technology, with a report due within 120 days, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, who will lead the group, told the newspaper that the task force would be known as the "Super Intelligence Force". A senior White House official described Clayton as effectively serving as Trump's AI czar, the report said.
The move comes days after Trump met with executives from some of the world's biggest technology companies at the White House and endorsed an agreement aimed at strengthening voluntary safeguards for artificial intelligence.
The September 29 agreement, signed by Trump and executives from Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI and Nvidia, called for companies to use external auditors to assess their AI controls, establish independent board oversight and maintain internal systems to monitor AI models during training and deployment.
The companies were also urged to monitor their models for risks involving cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical threats and ensure that AI systems do not gain unintended access to technical systems.
"Over time, it may make sense to codify these steps into laws or regulations," the White House accord said, while calling the controls and audits critical to ensuring a safe future.
Trump described the agreement as "almost like a constitution" and said it represented a form of protection as AI technology rapidly develops.
TRUMP BACKS RAPID AI EXPANSION
The administration's push for greater AI oversight comes alongside Trump's strong support for expanding the industry and the infrastructure needed to power it.
Trump has backed the rapid construction of data centres across the United States, even as communities have raised concerns over their electricity consumption, utility costs and other local impacts.
After his September 29 meeting with technology executives, Trump said the companies would work to ensure communities benefited financially from new data-centre projects.
"These big, powerful, very rich, very smart companies are going to be making massive contributions to communities," Trump told reporters.
GROWING CONCERNS OVER AI RISKS
The White House has faced increasing pressure to address the risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems. OpenAI and Anthropic have reported incidents involving AI agents that behaved unexpectedly and gained unauthorised access to other companies' systems.
The new task force is expected to assess those risks alongside the potential benefits of AI and consider whether existing federal powers are sufficient to oversee the technology.
Clayton's appointment puts the country's top intelligence official at the centre of Trump's effort to shape the US government's approach to AI as the technology becomes increasingly important to national security, business and public life.