In the United States, one man oversees all of the country's intelligence services, from the CIA to the NSA. His name is Jay Clayton.
Since Sunday, he has had a second job: steering American artificial intelligence policy.
What was announced
Donald Trump announced on his social network the creation of a "Super Intelligence Force", a group tasked with coordinating the federal government's action on AI. Jay Clayton, director of national intelligence since July, will lead it. He thereby becomes the White House's AI "tsar", a post vacant since the departure of the investor David Sacks in March.
Before intelligence, Jay Clayton chaired America's stock market watchdog and ran one of the country's most important federal prosecutors' offices, in New York.
He will be joined by three other officials: the chair of the consumer protection authority, the FTC, a senior research official at the Department of Defense, and the director of the agency in charge of federal civil servants. The group will report directly to the president and his chief of staff.
Its mission
According to Donald Trump, the group must ensure that America stays ahead in what he now calls superintelligence. It will coordinate the government's exchanges with consumers, associations, religious organisations, operators of essential infrastructure and companies in the sector.
According to the Wall Street Journal, its charter gives it 120 days to assess the risks and opportunities of AI, and to define how far the state's responsibility should extend. It asks it to address threats while avoiding excessive regulation that would hold back innovation.
The post of director of national intelligence was created in 2004, after the 11 September attacks, when an inquiry commission had concluded that American services did not share enough of their information. Its holder today coordinates the eighteen organisations of American intelligence. It is this man, used to questions of national security and secrecy, who is now in charge of AI policy.
What this choice reveals
Entrusting AI to the head of intelligence says clearly how Washington sees it: as a matter of national security. Jay Clayton said so himself a few days earlier on American television, rejecting the idea of pausing the development of the most advanced models.
It is the logical follow-on from what we described in September about the "AI Force" announced by the White House: AI treated first as a matter of power, before being treated as a product to be regulated.
One detail nonetheless qualifies this picture. The presence of the FTC chair in the group shows that consumer protection has not been forgotten. It is that same authority which recently refused to consider AI agents as independent actors, as we explained in our article on the liability of agents. Jay Clayton moreover takes the view that existing laws on consumer protection and product liability are enough to deal with harm caused by AI.
What we take away
In two weeks, Washington has rebranded AI, got companies to sign a voluntary commitment, and handed the file to the head of its spies. The line is clear: move fast, stay ahead, and rely on existing laws rather than new rules.
The group has 120 days to deliver its report. See you in early February to find out what American "superintelligence" will really have changed.