The Pulse
White House Gives Jay Clayton 120 Days to Assess AI Risks
The White House has formed a task force led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to report on artificial intelligence risks and opportunities within 120 days. The group will examine the federal government’s role, including how a
AI.info Team ·
The White House’s new artificial intelligence task force has 120 days to assess the technology’s risks and opportunities and recommend what role the federal government should play. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will lead the group, a move that also makes him the administration’s point person on AI policy.
Clayton told The Wall Street Journal the president wanted the group to help keep the United States at the forefront of “superintelligence” while putting Americans’ interests first. The panel’s assignment links two aims that can pull in different directions: maintaining U.S. leadership in advanced AI and deciding how government should respond to the technology’s dangers.
Clayton’s 120-day mandate
The task force, called the “Super Intelligence Force,” will review AI-related risks and the government’s existing systems for receiving warnings about breaches, hacks and model jailbreaks. Its charter calls for recommendations to strengthen the federal response under current authorities, rather than presuming new powers or rules.
Clayton said the group will examine current law and possible action by Congress. He also pointed to financial-sector risk frameworks developed through discussion between industry and regulators such as the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission. “I expect there will be mechanisms developed in dialogue, just like there are in other industries,” he told the Journal.
Agency officials and outside advisers
The task force’s vice chairs are Emil Michael, the undersecretary of war for Research and Engineering; Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management; and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson. Michael will coordinate with AI companies, while Kupor will work with critical-infrastructure providers and other industry stakeholders. Ferguson will oversee consumer interests, including issues affecting children, privacy, religious groups, speech and freedom of association.
Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles will also serve as members. Outside advisers include David Sacks, who previously held the administration’s AI czar role, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will advise on national security.
Government oversight alongside company safeguards
The group’s formation follows a September 29 White House meeting where technology companies agreed to voluntary principles for monitoring model development, independent reviews and board-level safety oversight. The Associated Press reported that the accord left open the possibility that some steps could eventually become law or regulation. The task force is expected to work with companies on risk assessment, while leaving industry-led safeguards in place.
That division leaves the task force with a defined but consequential brief: assess what agencies can do under existing law, identify gaps in how they handle incident warnings, and consider where Congress might act. Its report is due within 120 days. The membership and deadline are set; its recommendations on government authority, industry coordination and the handling of AI-related incidents are still to come.