President Donald Trump on Sunday, October 4, 2026, announced the creation of the "Super Intelligence Force" to coordinate the federal government's approach to artificial intelligence. The task force is led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, who was appointed as the administration's AI czar. Trump has directed the federal government to replace the term "artificial intelligence" with "super intelligence" in official communications.
The formation follows a meeting at the White House between Trump and executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Nvidia, and SpaceXAI. During that meeting, the technology companies signed a voluntary "White House Accord on Super Intelligence," committing to internal controls, external audits, and regular meetings to establish safety standards. Trump described these commitments as "morally binding" and emphasized a preference for industry self-policing.
The Super Intelligence Force includes Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, and Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor. The group will report to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. According to its charter, the force is tasked with reviewing AI-related risks, assessing government response capabilities for hacks or breaches, and engaging with public interest groups, religious organizations, and critical infrastructure providers.
For the private sector, the primary impact falls on the major AI development companies that signed the voluntary accord. While the agreement is not legally binding, these firms have committed to four layers of internal and external audits to monitor their AI models. Consumers and public interest groups are identified as stakeholders for the task force’s engagement. The administration’s stated goal is to maintain American technological leadership, particularly in competition with China, by avoiding oversight that Trump argues could hinder innovation.
The shift in terminology to "super intelligence" marks a change in executive branch policy, affecting how diplomats and federal agencies communicate about technology. This move follows warnings from some researchers that the rapid development of AI could pose significant risks to humanity within the next decade. The task force will now serve as a body for recommending whether new federal response capabilities are needed under existing legal authorities. The next milestone for this policy is the delivery of the 120-day report to the president.