Trump orders US government to replace "artificial intelligence" with "Super Intelligence"
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order requiring government agencies to use the term "Super Intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence." The order follows a White House meeting with tech CEOs and officials.
The US executive branch will no longer use the term "artificial intelligence" in official documents, policy websites, and press releases, replacing it instead with "Super Intelligence." The change comes via a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
Speaking at an event marking the launch of the America.gov website, Trump explained the reasoning behind the rebrand. "The word super is the best word of all, and it's the simplest," he said, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited the White House last week, also liked the term. Trump said he did not want to hear the word "artificial," arguing the technology is not artificial but powerful and brilliant, and that it will mostly be put to good use while bad uses will be stopped. He compared the word "artificial" to "fake news."
Trump first mentioned plans for the rebrand in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week, in an effort to ease fears about AI advancing too quickly and posing safety risks.
New term, but no new rules
Executive agencies will not be required to change past regulations or documents, but the shift is still considered unusual. "Superintelligence" is one of several industry terms used to describe particularly powerful AI systems, but the Trump administration is seeking to use it as a replacement for the broader statutory definition of AI. US officials will be expected not to even acknowledge the terms "artificial intelligence" or "AI" in relevant settings.
Trump signed the order after hosting a lunch at the White House with tech CEOs and government officials. Following the meeting, which included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Trump described it as "very productive" and "extremely friendly."
Trump also said he believes the industry should largely self-regulate, in addition to existing oversight from agencies including the Department of Justice and the FBI. Regarding local-level challenges tech companies face in building large data centers, Trump said companies will work to provide communities with the resources and economic support they need, predicting that data centers will become very popular.
