AI Gets a New Name: Trump Officially Calls It Super Intelligence
Super Intelligence becomes the new U.S. government term for AI as Trump announces SI after meeting major technology leaders at the White House.
Artificial intelligence gets a new name in the U.S. government as President Donald Trump officially changes the term to “SI.” The announcement comes after Trump met several leading technology executives at the White House on Tuesday. The meeting includes executives from Google, Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, and other major technology companies. Trump says the new terminology better represents the rapid development and expanding capabilities of the technology. The executive order also gives the administration 60 days to establish a federal definition of “super intelligence.”
Trump Officially Changes AI to SI
Trump announces the terminology change following a meeting with several technology leaders involved in developing advanced AI systems. Under the new terminology, the U.S. government refers to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence,” shortened to “SI.” The executive order says the term better captures the capabilities of rapidly developing technologies. According to the order, these systems increasingly do more than imitate or automate individual aspects of human intelligence, with AI models becoming increasingly capable of learning, adapting, and performing complex tasks.
Trump also describes the change as part of a new era for advanced technology. The order directs the federal government to use terminology that reflects what the administration describes as the growing capabilities and opportunities associated with these systems. However, the change does not mean that the technology industry or the rest of the world immediately stops using “artificial intelligence” or “AI.” The announcement specifically changes the terminology used by the U.S. government.
Top Tech Leaders Sign the Super Intelligence Accord
The announcement follows a White House meeting that brings several major technology executives together with Trump. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, and xAI founder Elon Musk are among the executives associated with the new agreement.
The meeting also focuses on how companies developing advanced systems approach safety and oversight. A separate voluntary White House accord calls on participating companies to establish internal safety controls and use independent external reviews. The companies agree to monitor risks connected with areas such as cybersecurity, biosecurity, and chemical threats. They also agree to create internal review structures and meet regularly to discuss safety standards and practices. The accord remains voluntary rather than creating a new legally enforceable regulatory system.
What Does Super Intelligence Mean?
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The term already has a specific meaning within discussions about advanced AI. It generally refers to a system that exceeds human cognitive abilities across a broad range of areas. The Hindustan Times report notes that this level of super intelligence has not yet been achieved. Therefore, changing the terminology does not mean that machines have already reached a level of intelligence that exceeds humans in every cognitive area.
The distinction is important because many existing AI models perform specific tasks at high levels but do not demonstrate universal cognitive abilities beyond humans. Trump’s order instead presents “super intelligence” as a term that reflects the direction of technological development. The administration says increasingly capable systems represent a new stage beyond traditional descriptions of artificial intelligence.
U.S. Government Gets 60 Days to Define SI
The terminology change also comes with a specific deadline. Trump’s executive order gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days to determine a federal definition of “super intelligence.”
This definition can become important for how federal agencies describe and discuss advanced AI systems. It can also help establish what technologies fall under the new terminology in government documents and policies. The move comes as governments and technology companies continue to debate how advanced AI systems should be developed and monitored. The White House’s voluntary accord adds another layer to that discussion by asking companies to establish their own safety processes.
What the AI-to-SI Change Means for the Technology Industry
For now, the biggest immediate change is terminology within the U.S. federal government. AI remains the widely recognized term used by technology companies, researchers, businesses, and the public. The decision does, however, put renewed attention on the rapidly changing capabilities of advanced AI agents and other advanced AI systems. It also places the phrase SI at the center of the U.S. government’s technology discussion.
As the administration works on a federal definition over the next 60 days, the distinction between existing AI systems and the more ambitious concept of super intelligence is likely to receive greater attention. For users and businesses, the technology itself does not suddenly change because of the name. Instead, the announcement marks a change in how the U.S. government describes the next stage of advanced AI development.
