Trump to Appoint Former SEC Head as White House AI Czar
President Donald Trump is reportedly set to appoint Jay Clayton, the former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as the White House's artificial intelligence (AI) czar. This move would put the country's approach to AI oversight in the hands of a former Wall Street regulator known for his aggressive crackdown on crypto.
Clayton's expected appointment comes after years of building a reputation as the architect of the SEC's 'regulation-by-enforcement' era for digital assets. As SEC chairman, he established the agency's Cyber Unit and pursued 57 enforcement actions against crypto firms and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
The most prominent case from that record targeted Ripple Labs, which the SEC accused of failing to register $1.3 billion worth of XRP token sales as securities. The case was launched just before Clayton left the agency in 2020, but was later dropped under Chairman Paul Atkins.
Clayton has described AI as a national security issue, saying 'superintelligence is a national security issue' and calling for a 'whole-of-government approach' to regulating the technology. However, he has also rejected calls to slow down AI development, saying 'I don't think any American should think that's a good strategy.'