US President Donald Trump announced during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday that the term artificial intelligence will be replaced by “super intelligence,” arguing that the former makes the technology “sound fake.” Under the new directive, all United States documents are to adopt the term “super intelligence” or its abbreviation, SI.
The initiative follows a series of polls conducted by the president on his Truth Social platform, where followers selected from options such as “superior intelligence,” “extreme intelligence,” and “supreme intelligence.” “Super intelligence” emerged as the winner. This move aligns with previous rebranding efforts, including the recent change of names for Lake Ontario to Lake America and the Gulf of Mexico.
However, industry experts have expressed skepticism that the term will be widely adopted. While some close allies of the president immediately embraced the change, many professionals argue that “super intelligence” carries a specific, advanced meaning within the tech community that current systems do not possess.
Nick Bostrom, a philosopher and author, originally defined super intelligence over a decade ago as an intellect superior to human capabilities in all fields. The concept remains entirely hypothetical. Simon Coghlan, a digital ethics lecturer at the University of Melbourne, described the rebranding as misleading. He noted that super intelligence typically refers to systems capable of self-improvement and argued that the term exaggerates the current capacities of AI.
“A superintelligent system, if it came about, would be regarded by experts as the most consequential technology ever made,” Coghlan said. Ben Leong, a computer science lecturer at the National University of Singapore, added that professionals are likely to reserve the term SI for a higher tier of AI development, stating, “It doesn’t feel like it’s at that level yet.”>
Within the administration, support for the new terminology was swift. US Chief Technology Officer Ethan Klein wrote on social media, “The Super Intelligence (SI) President has spoken! The United States is and will remain the global leader in SI.” Trump’s UN Ambassador, Michael Waltz, also expressed agreement, stating, “I think he’s absolutely right.” Conversely, Canadian Minister of AI Evan Solomon signaled resistance, noting that Canadians are “not enthusiastic, at all, about renaming things,” a clear reference to the recent geographic name changes imposed by Trump.
The rebranding occurs amidst growing calls from top tech executives and researchers for increased government regulation of the industry, citing fears that AI could endanger humanity. Trump has dismissed these concerns as “a hoax,” arguing against regulation and emphasizing the need to maintain a technological edge over China. He stated that the US is currently leading significantly and cannot afford to stifle growth in what he described as a sector bigger than the industrial revolution.
President Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where AI and the broader technological competition are expected to be key topics of discussion.
Experts are right to push back. ‘Super intelligence’ has a specific philosophical definition. Diluting it confuses the public debate.
Does this mean my car’s self-driving features are now super intelligent? I need them to admit they aren’t quite there yet.
This feels like another pointless rebranding stunt. The tech industry values precision, not political preference. It will be ignored.
I find it amusing that a popularity contest on Truth Social dictated scientific terminology. Seems more like branding than expertise.
Rebranding won’t change the underlying tech. Engineers will keep using AI until systems actually surpass human intellect in all domains.