Trump Creates 'Super Intelligence Force' to Win AI Race, Without Saying What It Will Actually Do

President Donald Trump has created a new federal group called the Super Intelligence Force after a White House summit with technology executives, but the administration has offered few details on what powers it will have.

The administration says the initiative is intended to help keep the US at the forefront of AI and address security risks linked to artificial intelligence. The report gives few details on how that would work in practice.

According to the report, the Super Intelligence Force will coordinate the executive branch's engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organisations, critical infrastructure providers and technology companies. It will report to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

What Will the Super Intelligence Force Do?

The force will be led by Jay Clayton, the Director of National Intelligence who now also holds the title of White House AI czar. He will work alongside Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management.

The AI czar role is an informal White House title for the official responsible for coordinating the administration's AI strategy across federal agencies. Clayton took over the role from venture capitalist David Sacks, whose tenure as a special government employee had expired.

Clayton said the leaders bring 'diverse skill sets' and will work to balance national security concerns with market policy. The report does not identify any binding oversight powers for the force.

The initiative builds on a voluntary agreement signed by the executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google, Nvidia and SpaceXAI. The White House Accord outlines internal controls and oversight, independent third-party audits and board reviews, alongside regular standards meetings between companies.

Trump has described the commitments as 'morally binding' and based on companies policing themselves. Critics, including former FTC chair Lina Khan, have argued that voluntary agreements do not provide the same enforcement power as federal rules.

Clayton said the US faces significant risks from failing to lead the field, arguing that technological leadership would help the country respond to threats from adversaries.

Executive Order Changes More Than the Name

The most specific measure in Executive Order 14434 concerns terminology. Federal agencies are instructed to replace 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' with 'Super Intelligence' and 'SI' in correspondence, public communications, websites, reports and non-statutory policy documents.

For now, the order continues to use the existing legal definition of artificial intelligence in federal law. It also directs officials to prepare proposed legislative language within 60 days establishing a statutory definition of 'Super Intelligence'. The order says it does not require changes to previous regulations, contracts or grants, and does not remove existing agency authority.

The announcement has attracted scepticism over the lack of binding rules and jokes about the force's name. Some online commentators compared the branding to the early reaction to Space Force.

Clayton said the group will review existing laws, examine risk models used by agencies including the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission, and discuss potential legislation with Congress.

The report does not specify when such legislation could be introduced. That leaves the administration's first clearly defined deadline as a 60-day push to define 'Super Intelligence' in law. For now, the force's practical powers and wider role remain less clearly defined.