Trump Taps Intel Chief Jay Clayton as AI Czar — SkimNews
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- Trump is expected to tap Jay Clayton as his new "AI tsar," per CNN, CBS, and Axios, with a White House announcement possible as early as Friday; the White House told Al Jazeera the reports are "baseless speculation" until the president confirms.
- Clayton was Senate-confirmed as DNI in July after serving as SEC chairman and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and he succeeded Bill Pulte, a controversial Trump loyalist who had been acting director of national intelligence.
- David Sacks, the venture capitalist Trump first named AI tsar, resigned earlier this year and is now an external adviser; Trump teased the search for a replacement on social media last month, writing "Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!"
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Clayton both attended Tuesday's White House AI meeting, and the company warned in its IPO prospectus that the Trump administration's attacks and lawsuits on its technology could hurt customer and government relationships.
- A federal appeals court ruled last week the US government can blacklist Anthropic from Pentagon contracts, finding "ample support" that the company's products pose a supply chain risk; Anthropic says it won't allow use for autonomous weapons or surveillance.
- Amazon pledged $1 billion over five years to US communities hosting its data centers, citing education, job training, and water projects, amid public pushback against the facilities that Trump has also blasted.
Why it matters: If confirmed, Clayton would oversee all 18 US intelligence agencies while coordinating federal AI policy — a dual mandate arriving as Anthropic's IPO prospectus warns that Trump administration hostility could damage its government and customer relationships.
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