The facts
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday the creation of a White House task force to coordinate the administration's response to artificial intelligence (AI). The task force, which Trump prefers to call the "Super Intelligence Force" (SI), will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor. Trump stated in a Truth Social post that the SI will "coordinate the federal government’s engagement with consumers, public interest groups, religious organizations, critical infrastructure providers, and super intelligence companies." This initiative follows Trump's September declaration of intent to establish an AI force to oversee the technology's development, while also expressing opposition to strict regulation. He stated, "We will not in any way hinder or stifle the growth of this incredible industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!" The announcement comes as AI risks are a growing concern, with figures like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calling for a global slowdown in AI development, a sentiment echoed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In late September, Trump hosted tech leaders who agreed to "tremendous self-regulation" through voluntary safety commitments, though this accord is largely symbolic.
Our take
Donald Trump dropped another Truth Social turd on Sunday announcing his White House task force for artificial intelligence and insisting everyone call it the Super Intelligence Force. The thing gets headed by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson Pentagon CTO Emil Michael and OPM Director Scott Kupor who will apparently spend their days herding consumers religious organizations and super intelligence companies into some kind of federal cuddle pile.
Trump wrote that the SI will coordinate the federal bullshit government’s engagement with consumers public interest groups religious organizations critical infrastructure providers and super intelligence companies. He added the usual chest thump about never hindering or stifling the growth of this incredible industry and instead cherishing it helping it and watching over it as it grows. That is the same mouth that hosted tech leaders for a round of tremendous self regulation through voluntary safety commitments that carry all the legal weight of a fart in a hurricane.
The whole spectacle arrives while actual AI developers like the Anthropic CEO and others mutter about needing a global slowdown yet Trump prefers to treat the technology like a pampered houseplant that must never face rules. His September declaration of intent already signaled the same hands off worship and now the Super Intelligence Force exists to make sure no one accidentally grows a spine.
Jay Clayton Andrew Ferguson Emil Michael and Scott Kupor get the glorious job of pretending this symbolic accord means something while the rest of the world watches AI sprint ahead anyway. The voluntary commitments remain exactly what they were before the announcement: empty handshakes dressed up as policy. Trump still gets to preen about fostering the industry without ever having to explain what happens when the technology outruns every religious organization and critical infrastructure provider on his contact list.
The result is another layer of bureaucratic cosplay where the only measurable output will be press releases claiming tremendous self regulation while the actual risks keep compounding. Trump’s Super Intelligence Force is just the latest proof that his idea of oversight is letting the foxes write the henhouse newsletter and then calling it progress.
