Trump pushes 'super intelligence' as the new name for AI, by executive order

The Verge reports that President Donald Trump has decided to rebrand artificial intelligence as 'super intelligence' (SI), while turning the word 'artificial' into a pejorative. In a United Nations speech last month he said that 'the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake' and promised to rename the technology. Last week, the article says, he followed through with an executive order forbidding the use of 'AI' wherever possible. On Thursday he declared that the White House considers anyone who uses the term 'Artificial Intelligence', as opposed to the 'highly accepted new and more accurate term, Super Intelligence', 'THE ENEMY!'

The article places this in the context of Trump's wider stance. A longtime AI booster, he has gone into what The Verge calls 'pro-robot overdrive' since an industry conversation over 'pacing' frontier development last month. His current position is that AI safety risks are overblown and US companies need to speed up development, including by building more data centers, which he insists, contrary to polling data, will be 'very popular'. On top of discouraging industry self-regulation, the piece says, he has decided AI needs a rebrand by fiat.

The changes have been swift. The US Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), itself already a rebrand of the AI Safety Institute, has been renamed the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI). Justice Department press releases have been modified to include the phrase: one announces that a man who flooded streaming platforms with AI-generated songs between 2017 and 2024 committed 'Super Intelligence-Assisted Music Streaming Fraud'.

The tech figures who rushed to donate millions to Trump after his election have, in the article's words, quickly signed on. Elon Musk, whom the piece calls Trump's 'First Buddy', has promised to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI. Jeff Bezos said he likes the term because 'artificial is not a very flattering thing'. Jensen Huang, whom Trump called live on stage last month to rant that 'robots will not be taking over', has adopted it too. Sam Altman praised it, though he said OpenAI will not be changing its name.

The Verge also notes that 'artificial' is creeping into Trump's wider vocabulary, like 'hoax' and 'fake' before it. He recently announced that 'fake news media' would be retired in favor of calling the press 'artificial media', and at an October 5th campaign rally he declared that concerns about war driving up prices were 'just artificial'.

The article then lays out why it thinks the rename will struggle. 'Superintelligence' (one word) long predates Trump's affection for 'super' and was popularized by Nick Bostrom's 2014 book of the same name. The term denotes highly advanced AI that could surpass human thought, not the category of AI as a whole. It might seem good for companies already hitched to superintelligence, including Meta and Microsoft, but forcing SI on everything undercuts companies' ability to sell new products as 'superintelligent', since the label would be applied to everything from a future machine god to years-old music-slop generation tools.

Trump will also have to bring the other branches of government along. He cannot bar Congress from saying 'artificial intelligence', and the phrase appears in existing laws such as his signature Take It Down Act, which administration agencies will need to cite when arguing in court. Congressional Republicans will have to decide whether to appease him by adopting a name many people find unintuitive. Complicating matters, pro-regulation figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) were already using the earlier meaning of superintelligence: Sanders cosponsored the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act in early September.

The Verge's verdict is that Trump's linguistic wins usually come from catchy nicknames, and 'super intelligence' reads as a euphemism. Many Americans have tangible gripes with the industry, particularly around data centers, and calling the tech 'super' does nothing to assuage them. If anything, the article concludes, the push makes Trump and the industry look awfully weak.

Key facts

Per The Verge, Trump promised at a UN speech last month to rename AI 'super intelligence' and followed with an executive order last week forbidding use of 'AI' wherever possible.
CAISI has been renamed the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI), and Justice Department press releases now use 'Super Intelligence'.
Musk, Bezos, Huang and Altman have gone along; Musk promised to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, while Altman said OpenAI will not change its name.
'Superintelligence' already means highly advanced AI that could surpass human thought, popularized by Nick Bostrom's 2014 book, and Sanders cosponsored a Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act in early September.
Existing laws such as the Take It Down Act say 'artificial intelligence', and Trump cannot bar Congress from using it.

Why it matters

A sitting president is trying to rename a whole technology by decree, and parts of the federal government have already complied. The rename also collides with an existing term: superintelligence refers to highly advanced AI that could surpass human thought, not to AI in general, so applying it to everything blurs a distinction the industry and regulators already use. The Verge frames the move as part of Trump's push to speed up AI development and discourage self-regulation, and argues a euphemism will not shift public concern, especially about data centers.

Who it affects

Federal bodies such as CAISI and the Justice Department, which have already changed their wording. Tech companies and their leaders, from Meta and Microsoft, which had already hitched their wagon to superintelligence, to OpenAI, which is keeping its name, and Musk's SpaceXAI, which Musk has promised to rename SpaceXSI. Members of Congress, who will have to decide whether to adopt the term, and the Americans whose worries about the industry, particularly around data centers, the article says the rebrand does not address.

How to use it

There is nothing to install or adopt here; this is about vocabulary. Readers who follow US government communications should expect 'Super Intelligence' or 'SI' in agency releases and names. Existing statutes still say 'artificial intelligence', which agencies will need to cite in court, so legal text will keep the old term. When reading about AI legislation, check which meaning of 'superintelligence' is in play: Sanders' Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act uses the earlier definition.

How solid is it

The article is a mix of reporting and opinion from The Verge. The quoted statements, the CAISSI rename, the Justice Department wording and the executive branding by Musk, Bezos, Huang and Altman are presented as reported facts with direct quotations. The judgments, such as the rebrand looking weak or not easing concerns, are the outlet's opinion. The text of the executive order, its title or number, and its enforcement mechanism are not given beyond 'forbidding the use of AI wherever possible', and the article's own date and the order's exact date are not stated (only 'last week', 'last month' and 'Thursday').

Risks and caveats

Several things are unclear or contested. The article does not say which agencies besides CAISI and the Justice Department have changed terminology, and no polling figures are given for data centers. Forcing 'SI' onto all AI could undercut companies' ability to market specific products as 'superintelligent'. Trump needs the other branches of government on board and cannot bar Congress from saying 'artificial intelligence'. And with Sanders already using the older meaning of superintelligence in a bill to restrict powerful AI, the new usage risks making discussions more confusing rather than clearer.

“the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake”

— Donald Trump, in a United Nations speech, as quoted by The Verge