Trump’s Super Intelligence Force leaders meet Thursday to set the agenda

The Trump administration’s new AI task force is about to have its first official meeting. Its leaders will sit down on Thursday to decide what, exactly, the group is supposed to do.

Who is in the room

The group carries a name that sounds borrowed from a summer blockbuster: the Super Intelligence Force, or SIF. The administration revealed its leadership on October 4, 2026.

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will serve as the lead AI czar. He is joined by FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

Rounding out the leadership is Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The lineup spans intelligence, consumer protection, defense research and the federal workforce.

Thursday’s agenda is about defining the group’s goals and responsibilities. After that, the clock starts running in earnest.

The task force must deliver a comprehensive report on AI risks and opportunities within 120 days.

A mandate built around light regulation

The SIF is tasked with coordinating government efforts with a range of outside stakeholders. Those include public interest groups and critical infrastructure providers.

Its stated focus is preserving US leadership in AI while steering clear of heavy regulation.

The administration is also changing its vocabulary. The term “super intelligence” will replace “artificial intelligence” in official Trump administration communications.

The leadership team has deep ties to the tech industry. Kupor is affiliated with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and Michael has a history of investing in AI. At least five members of the SIF have connections to AI and tech investments.

How we got here

The task force arrives on the heels of a bigger announcement. On September 29, 2026, Trump and executives from six prominent AI firms, including Google and OpenAI, signed the White House Accord on Super Intelligence.

The accord outlines commitments to internal controls and audits. It establishes safety controls that the participating companies agreed to adopt.

Clayton has warned that failing to keep pace with global AI developments could raise national security threats. He has also stressed the need for vigilant oversight, including proactive measures to guard against adversaries exploiting AI technologies.

What this means

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of US voters believe the government is not doing enough to address potential AI risks. Many of those voters are pushing for new rules to manage the technology. The SIF, meanwhile, is explicitly designed to avoid heavy regulation.

Questions about conflicts of interest tend to follow any panel whose members once funded the companies they now help oversee.

Critical infrastructure providers are also named as stakeholders. That suggests the task force may look at how AI interacts with power grids, communications networks and other systems the country depends on.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.