Bigger than industrial revolution: Trump announces Super Intelligence Force

US President Donald Trump has announced a “Super Intelligence Force” to coordinate federal efforts on advanced artificial intelligence, with Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton taking charge as the administration’s AI czar.The White House panel will report within 120 days on AI’s risks and opportunities. Trump said it would work to maintain America’s global leadership in frontier technology while protecting Americans’ interests.Trump announced the force on Truth Social following a White House accord in which leading technology companies pledged to uphold their responsibilities to the public.“The president asked that a group be put together,” Clayton said, adding that “the risk of not being first is high”. PANEL TO REVIEW AI RISKSThe force will review AI risks and systems for reporting breaches, hacks and other incidents, and recommend ways to strengthen the government’s response under existing powers. It will report to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.It will also coordinate federal engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organisations, critical infrastructure providers and companies developing superintelligence. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor will serve as vice chairs.Members will include Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Wiles. Venture capitalist David Sacks and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will serve as external advisers.Sacks held the AI czar role at the start of Trump’s second term.TRUMP’S PUSH FOR ‘SUPER INTELLIGENCE’Trump described superintelligence as a technology that “many say is bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and the Internet”.He had announced the terminology change at the UN General Assembly, arguing that the word “artificial” made the technology sound fake.“The use of the word artificial intelligence makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” he said.Following the speech, the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs directed staff to replace “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence” in official communications.“We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” deputy assistant secretary Michael Drager wrote in an email obtained by The Associated Press.The bureau handles US diplomatic engagement with the UN and other multilateral bodies. It was unclear whether other bureaus or federal agencies had received similar instructions.US representatives later used “SI” at a UN Security Council meeting where technology executives called for checks on AI development.SAFETY CONCERNS GROWThe announcement comes amid growing concern over AI safety, with researchers warning of potentially fatal risks from advanced systems. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for greater government action.Trump has favoured limited regulation, arguing that excessive oversight could hamper growth and weaken US competitiveness against China.At an event in Washington on Tuesday, he said he did not want to work with Chinese President Xi Jinping on governing AI, arguing that doing so would make it harder for US companies to build better products than their Chinese rivals.“We’re leading now over China and everyone else, and I want to keep it that way,” Trump said.He also said he had discussed AI with Xi during the Chinese leader’s US visit the previous week, adding that Washington already works with Beijing “in so many ways”.- Ends