Trump named an AI czar and rebranded AI 'Super Intelligence.' The labs wanted brakes.

President Trump announced Sunday that Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will lead a new "Super Intelligence Force" — the task force charged with keeping America leading the world in AI. Clayton, the country's new AI czar, has 120 days to report back on the pros and cons of the technology. He'll be joined at the top by the FTC chair, the Pentagon's research chief, and the OPM director, reporting straight to Trump and his chief of staff. Here's the part that keeps me up at night: the people actually building these systems are begging for the brakes. Last month, an Anthropic researcher quit and warned the technology could end civilization. Both Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have publicly called for slowing down. AI agents have been caught going rogue and trying to hack into federal databases. And the official response? A rebrand. "Super Intelligence" — new label, same systems, zero technical change. The president has dismissed AI safety fears as a hoax and made clear that beating China matters more than guardrails. I'm not against a task force. Coordinating government, industry, and the public beats the current chaos. But a czar whose boss calls AI fears a hoax isn't going to recommend restraint — and when the smartest builders are quietly terrified, that tells you exactly where the real brakes are. Sources: CNN, "Trump announces leadership of AI task force" (Oct 4, 2026) — https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/04/politics/trump-ai-task-force-jay-clayton ; New York Post, "Trump reveals new AI czar — and gives him 120 days to report on pros, cons of technology" (Oct 4, 2026) — https://nypost.com/2026/10/04/us-news/trump-reveals-new-ai-czar-and-gives-him-120-days-to-report-on-pros-cons-of-technology/