Trump ordered federal agencies to say "Super Intelligence" instead of "AI"

On Sept. 29, President Trump signed an executive order telling federal agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports and policy documents, and to “no longer acknowledge” the terms “artificial intelligence” and “AI” (Fox Business). On Oct. 4, Trump said on Truth Social that Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton will be the new AI czar and, among several officials, will lead a newly formed “Super Intelligence Force” (Politico).

The order doesn’t require changing regulations, contracts, grants or other documents already issued, and for now it defines SI as the same technologies the law already calls artificial intelligence (the order). It asks the assistant to the president for science and technology to propose a federal definition of SI and recommend any further executive action needed to implement it (the order). Trump wrote that “Super Intelligence” more appropriately captures the promise and the rapidly advancing capabilities of these technologies (Fox Business).

The day he signed the order, tech executives at a White House summit signed a “White House Accord on Super Intelligence,” Trump said, and he called it “morally binding” for those who signed; House Speaker Mike Johnson described voluntary commitments by the industry to “robust internal controls and layers of internal and external review” (Fox Business).

Joining Clayton in leading the force will be FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, reporting directly to Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles (Politico). The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that the force will deliver a report on the technology’s risks and opportunities within 120 days (Techmeme).

If your job touches federal work, expect to see “SI” in what agencies send you and publish. Whatever anybody calls it, ask what the system actually does, what data it uses and who checks its work.

A new name is still the same software.