US intelligence chief calls superintelligence a national security issue, opposes AI development pause

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said on Sept. 30 that “superintelligence is a national security issue” and opposed a pause in AI model development by U.S. companies.

Clayton said federal agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, rather than the civil tort litigation system, should regulate AI companies. He also argued that if regulated U.S. companies stopped development, it would leave other countries to build and deploy AI models.

On Sept. 29, President Donald Trump met with executives from Anthropic and OpenAI at the White House. After the meeting, Trump said he and executives had reached consensus on industry self-regulation, with companies taking responsibility for the safe development of technology. Clayton said the meeting showed a visible focus on the safety and responsibility owed to the American people.

Asked about criticism from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called Trump’s self-regulation approach a “disaster in the making,” Clayton responded that the U.S. has the FTC and the Department of Justice, and that he knows both agency heads are committed to protecting Americans in this area.

Clayton also declined to answer directly whether he would accept the role of AI czar if offered by Trump. As DNI, he currently oversees 18 intelligence community organizations.