Trump's AI summit: new 'super intelligence' label and toothless safety pact draw skepticism

U.S. President Donald Trump gathered many of the top names in artificial intelligence at the White House this week for an event with two notable outcomes: an announcement that federal officials will now refer to the technology as 'super intelligence' rather than 'artificial intelligence,' and the signing of a document called the 'Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities' by several major AI companies.

Attendees included Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. According to TechCrunch's Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane, and Anthony Ha, the pact is 'deeply non-binding' from a legal standpoint since signing was entirely voluntary. Trump himself described it as 'morally binding.'

The hosts noted the document appeared to have been assembled quickly — it even misspelled 'United States.' Korosec pointed out that just days before the event, Anthropic had reportedly been out of favor with the administration, but relations shifted after Amodei was invited to a late-night dinner with Trump. O'Kane added, however, that the Defense Department continues to publicly criticize Anthropic as a national security risk, suggesting internal tensions within the administration remain unresolved.

The podcast hosts suggested the event's real significance lies less in its legal weight and more in its messaging: an effort to reshape public perception of AI, shifting from a narrative of fear and job losses associated with 'artificial intelligence' toward a more reassuring framing around 'super intelligence.' Over the weekend, Trump extended this rebranding push further by announcing the creation of a new 'Super Intelligence Force.'