Jay Clayton
President Trump announced a new "Super Intelligence Force" on Sunday to coordinate U.S. AI policy, with Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as its lead. The announcement came days after six AI companies signed a voluntary White House accord on safety controls and audits that Trump called "morally binding." So far, the reporting describes the accord as self-regulation, with no new federal law behind it.
Who is on the force
According to CBS News, the Super Intelligence Force (SIF) includes:
Jay Clayton, director of national intelligence, who leads it
Andrew Ferguson, FTC chairman
Emil Michael, Pentagon under secretary for research and engineering and chief technology officer
Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management
The group reports to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Its stated goal is to "ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence," Trump's preferred term for AI. It is to engage consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, infrastructure providers and industry. Fortune reports Trump called the technology "bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and the Internet."
Who Jay Clayton is
CBS News reported in advance that Clayton would take the AI czar role while remaining director of national intelligence. He is a lawyer who was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and led the Securities and Exchange Commission for most of Trump's first term. The Senate confirmed him as director of national intelligence in July. CBS says he succeeds venture capitalist David Sacks, who stepped down earlier this year as the White House's crypto and AI czar.
What the companies agreed to
At the White House meeting, leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia and SpaceX's AI division signed a voluntary accord, CBS reports. It commits them to four layers of controls and audits:
internal evaluations
audits by external firms
board-level reviews
regular meetings to set safety standards and best practices
Trump credited "tremendous self-policing" by companies that "understand that they have to self-police." CBS has reported that Trump is skeptical of stricter AI regulation, stresses the technology's economic benefits, and has warned that slowdowns could advantage Chinese AI labs. He has called the industry agreement "almost like a constitution."
What happens next
One report summarizing coverage from CBS, The Washington Post and CNBC says Clayton has 120 days to study AI risks and opportunities and recommend how much the federal government should be involved. That deadline was not in the CBS or Fortune articles reviewed for this story, so treat it as reported but not yet confirmed from a primary source. None of the reporting reviewed describes an enforcement mechanism or penalties for the accord.
Why it matters for business readers
The accord is voluntary, so the commitments depend on each company's follow-through. For businesses buying AI tools, the practical signal is that external audits and board-level review are becoming the expected baseline for large vendors, and it is reasonable to ask vendors whether they follow them. The inclusion of the FTC chair and the Pentagon's technology chief suggests consumer-protection and defense concerns are being weighed together. Any recommendations that come out of the review will be the next signal on whether voluntary standards turn into rules.
FAQ
What is the Super Intelligence Force?
A federal AI task force announced by Trump and led by Jay Clayton. It also includes the FTC chair, the Pentagon's chief technology officer and the head of the Office of Personnel Management, and it reports to Trump and Susie Wiles.
Is the AI safety accord legally binding?
CBS describes it as voluntary. Trump called it "morally binding," but the reporting reviewed describes no legal enforcement or penalties.
Which companies signed it?
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia and SpaceX's AI division.