Trump’s attempt to rename AI is looking awfully artificial

Government directives now force a choice between adopting "super intelligence" or being labeled an enemy.

Former President Donald Trump is attempting to rebrand artificial intelligence (AI) as "super intelligence" (SI) and has declared the term "artificial intelligence" to be "fake" and its users "THE ENEMY." This initiative, prompted by recent industry discussions on pacing AI development, aims to accelerate US AI progress by downplaying safety risks and encouraging more data center construction. Trump's executive order mandates the removal of "AI" where possible, leading to immediate changes like the renaming of the US Center for AI Standards and Innovation to the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI). Several prominent tech figures, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Jensen Huang, have publicly supported or adopted the new terminology, though OpenAI's Sam Altman indicated the company would not change its name. Trump has also begun using "artificial" as a pejorative in other contexts, such as "artificial media" for the press.

Trump's forceful rebranding of AI to "super intelligence" (SI) is an attempt to reshape public perception and accelerate development by diminishing perceived risks, but it faces significant linguistic and practical hurdles. The term "superintelligence" has an established meaning in AI research denoting highly advanced capabilities beyond human intellect, distinct from the broad category of AI Trump seeks to redefine. This forced rebrand could confuse existing market segmentation and marketing efforts for advanced AI products, while potentially undermining the nuanced discourse around AI's future evolution.

The mandated shift creates a complex environment for both industry and regulators. Companies that have invested in branding around "superintelligence" may see an advantage, but the blanket application risks diluting the term's impact. Furthermore, legislative bodies and existing legal frameworks may resist this top-down nomenclature change, especially if it becomes entangled with Trump's broader anti-regulatory stance on AI. This linguistic battle underscores a growing tension between political influence and the organic evolution of technological terminology, with potential implications for how AI capabilities are discussed and regulated globally.