Trump says ‘artificial intelligence’ sounds fake and wants US government documents to start calling AI ‘super intelligence’ instead
AI has a new name, according to Trump. Whether anyone else adopts it is another matter.
Artificial intelligence has spent years becoming a household term, but President Donald Trump has decided the name could use an upgrade. Apparently, the word “artificial” makes the whole thing sound “fake.”
During his September 22 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump announced that U.S. government documents would begin referring to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence,” or “SI.” He also expressed hope that the rest of the world would adopt his preferred name.
The president explained his reasoning during his speech, arguing that “artificial” makes intelligence sound fake when the technology is, in his words, “actually amazing.” The announcement came as world leaders gathered to discuss AI development and its potential risks, although Trump had a different priority for the technology’s introduction: a new name. Yes, the newest target in the renaming row is now AI.
Trump wants the world to meet SI
Trump told the assembly that U.S. documents would replace “artificial” with “super,” describing the new terminology as more accurate. He introduced the abbreviation SI and acknowledged that he would have to wait and see whether his preferred name caught on.
“So, it’s Super intelligence. In other words, welcome to the new world of Super intelligence,” he said. “Let’s see if I have any power. Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t.”
Super intelligence already means something in ongoing AI research. It generally describes a hypothetical system whose abilities exceed human intelligence across virtually all cognitive tasks, rather than serving as another name for the AI tools available today.
In other words, the proposed rebrand gives current AI a name associated with a much more advanced kind of system. Whether the terminology catches on outside U.S. government communications remains to be seen in the “super” near future.
Trump has tried his hand at rebranding before, including endorsing a proposal to rename ICE as “NICE.” The proposed name added “National” to the agency’s existing title. If the goal was to make the organization gain a “nice” reputation, he must’ve had a lot of faith in the letter “n.” The renaming habit has extended to geography, too. Jimmy Fallon mocked Trump’s New Mexico rebranding idea after the president shared an image replacing the state’s name with “New America.”
The new name came with a familiar policy position
Trump’s announcement was part of a widespread argument against international efforts to regulate AI. He told the assembly that the United States rejected attempts to establish a global framework controlling the technology and said his administration would encourage its development rather than restrict its growth.
The president also brushed aside AI safety warnings, comparing them to climate change predictions. “The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming… are now saying that AI is going to kill us all,” he said, according to AFP.
Other leaders at the UN took different positions. According to AFP, more than 20 mostly European countries had called for binding safety measures ahead of the assembly, while France advocated developing AI technology that would reduce dependence on major powers.
The world has spent years getting used to the abbreviation AI. Now, if Trump’s proposed terminology takes hold, government communications could have a new set of initials to explain. After all, the last major rebranding went so smoothly that everyone definitely calls Twitter “X” now.
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