Trump is reportedly set to appoint a new "AI czar": the Director of National Intelligence will take over from the Silicon Valley mogul, and the focus of AI policy will shift towards security and control.

The Trump administration's AI governance structure is undergoing a significant personnel shift. On Friday, October 2nd, Eastern Time, multiple media outlets reported that Trump is expected to appoint current Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House's chief AI advisor, dubbed the "AI Czar," to replace venture capitalist David Sacks, who left office in March of this year.

According to these media reports, Trump could announce the appointment as early as this Friday. Clayton currently heads 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. His intelligence and security background contrasts sharply with his predecessor Sacks' Silicon Valley venture capital background, leading to widespread interpretation of this personnel change as a signal that the White House's AI policy focus may be shifting towards security control. White House officials, responding to media inquiries, stated, "Any personnel appointments will be announced directly by the President; any previous reports are unfounded speculation."

This appointment comes against the backdrop of escalating controversy surrounding AI security. A Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 72% of surveyed American voters oppose the construction of new data centers in their communities, a further increase from 65% in March. Meanwhile, a series of security incidents involving AI agent systems infiltrating external systems have brought the issue of AI risks to the forefront of the upcoming midterm elections.

Clayton's intelligence background: Security control priority increased.

Clayton's resume is strikingly different from his predecessor's. Before becoming Director of National Intelligence, he served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, handling numerous high-profile cases, including those related to the capture of former Venezuelan President Maduro by the United States. In July of this year, he succeeded Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence after her resignation in May, and was confirmed by the Senate.

During his tenure as Director of Intelligence, Clayton has publicly expressed his high regard for the security threats posed by AI. At his confirmation hearing as Director of Intelligence, Clayton described AI as "not just an opportunity, but also a threat," stating that "when something is both an opportunity and a threat, you'd better keep it firmly in your grasp."

In a CNBC interview released this week, Clayton characterized "superintelligence" as a "national security issue," and said that this assessment was shared by AI industry leaders who attended a meeting at the White House on Tuesday.

It's worth noting that Clayton also explicitly opposed suspending AI development, stating, "I don't think anyone in that room" would consider suspending development in the United States "a good strategy." According to Axios, when asked about his "AI czar" this week, Trump pointed to Clayton and called him a "good guy," suggesting that the appointment was essentially decided in Trump's mind.

Policy Differences with Sacks: Subtle Differences in Regulatory Stance

Clayton's potential appointment would fill the position left by David Sacks. Sacks left in March after his term as a special government employee expired, but he has maintained contact with Trump and attended a White House luncheon with tech executives this Tuesday.

The two men have significant differences in their stance on AI regulation. Sacks has consistently advocated for AI development to be as unregulated as possible to foster innovation, and criticized Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's calls for stronger regulation and a slowdown in development, arguing that this essentially creates barriers for large companies and hinders smaller competitors.

In contrast, Clayton's intelligence and security background gives him a more direct understanding of the potential risks of AI. However, according to Bloomberg, if Clayton's appointment is ultimately finalized, it will indicate that the Trump administration has no intention of changing its "hands-off" stance on AI—a technology that has always been a core pillar of Trump's economic agenda.

In September, Trump himself dismissed security concerns raised by Anthropic CEO Amodei and others as a "hoax," insisting that existing liability laws provide sufficient protection.

For AI companies and capital markets, the policy implications of this personnel change remain uncertain: Clayton's security background may drive stricter AI system review mechanisms, but his explicit opposition to suspending development has alleviated market concerns about a sharp tightening of regulations to some extent.

The Evolution of the White House's AI Governance Structure

This personnel change is the latest move in the Trump administration's recent intensive efforts to govern AI. Last month, Trump announced plans to create an "AI czar" position and form an "AI force," but did not disclose specific implementation details. This Tuesday, Trump hosted a dinner at the White House for nearly twenty Silicon Valley executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, SpaceX AI's Elon Musk, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

Following the meeting, Trump rejected the proposal to enact new AI regulations, insisting on the principle of industry self-regulation. The participants reached a consensus on a framework agreement: companies will collaborate with external auditing firms to conduct model security assessments and strengthen internal system controls. This arrangement reflects the Trump administration's consistent logic—replacing government legislative oversight with industry self-regulation.

However, with the frequent security vulnerabilities in AI agent systems, and Amodei's 3,800-word article published on September 12 calling for a slowdown in AI development and stronger government regulation, public concerns about AI security can no longer be easily dispelled by the government unilaterally labeling it a "scam." Members of Parliament from both parties have expressed their vigilance and called for stronger AI regulatory action. Against this backdrop, Clayton's ability to find a balance between "promoting development" and "ensuring security" will be the primary test she faces as the AI Tsar.

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