By Erin Banco
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump is expected to name Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to be his top adviser on AI, a position the president has called “AI czar” in the past, according to a source familiar with the decision.
Clayton already oversees 18 US intelligence agencies as the nation’s top spy and is expected to keep that role.
“Any personnel announcement will be announced directly by the president,” a White House official said in a statement to Reuters when asked about Clayton being selected for the position. “Any reporting until then is baseless speculation.”
Trump’s decision to name a new AI czar comes after AI researchers warned that people building the technology believe it could kill humans within a decade. Trump last month said he planned to name a new “AI czar” and create an “AI force,” though he gave no details about either initiative or how they would be implemented.
This is the second time Trump has named an adviser to oversee AI-related decisions across the administration. Venture capitalist David Sacks held the AI czar role at the beginning of Trump’s second term, before leaving the White House. Sacks still advises Trump on AI and attended a meeting on Tuesday with the president and industry executives.
The news of an AI czar was first reported by CBS.
(Reporting by Erin Banco in Washington; Writing by Courtney Rozen and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)
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