A newly coined euphemism for artificial intelligence will likely prove insufficient to silence the public's growing concerns about the technology.
A newly coined euphemism for artificial intelligence will likely prove insufficient to silence the public's growing concerns about the technology.
President Donald Trump has a history of weaponizing language against his political opponents. His initial campaign relied on disparaging nicknames, and he successfully transformed the phrase "fake news" into a pejorative for the press. Recently, however, he has attempted to apply this linguistic strategy to artificial intelligence. Trump is branding the technology "super" while reclassifying "artificial" as a derogatory term for the industry and declaring resisters "THE ENEMY." Although several prominent figures in the sector have aligned with this rebranding, the linguistic battle may not yield the desired results.
Trump has long been an advocate for AI, recently ramping up his pro-robot stance following discussions about the pacing of frontier development. His current policy suggests that safety risks are exaggerated and that U.S. companies should accelerate, including by expanding data centers, which he claims will be popular despite polling data to the contrary. Beyond discouraging self-regulation, he seeks to mandate a rebrand for the technology. In a speech at the United Nations, Trump asserted that "the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake" and promised to rename it "super intelligence." He followed this declaration with an executive order last week, prohibiting the use of "AI" wherever possible.
Changes have been implemented swiftly. The U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), formerly the AI Safety Institute, has been rebranded as the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI). Department of Justice communications have also been updated, with press releases now describing a man who utilized AI-generated songs as having committed "Super Intelligence-Assisted Music Streaming Fraud." On Thursday, Trump declared that "The White House considers anyone that uses the term, ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’ THE ENEMY!"
Tech industry leaders who donated millions following Trump's election have largely endorsed the change. His close associate Elon Musk promised to rename SpaceX's AI division to SpaceXSI, while Jeff Bezos expressed approval, arguing that "artificial is not a very flattering thing." Jensen Huang, whom Trump called on stage to discuss the lack of robot takeovers, has similarly adopted the term. Sam Altman praised the move, though he noted that OpenAI will not be changing its name.
As Trump attempts to establish the "SI" terminology, he has begun integrating "artificial" into his lexicon similarly to terms like "hoax" and "fake." He recently announced that his traditional "fake news media" label would be retired in favor of "artificial media." During a campaign rally in October, he dismissed concerns about inflation as "just artificial," shortly before making controversial remarks about military actions.
Despite the apparent enthusiasm from some industry figures, Trump is effectively mandating a significant terminology overhaul for the sector. The term "superintelligence" (one word) predates Trump's interest, having been popularized by philosopher Nick Bostrom in a 2014 book. While it denotes highly advanced AI that surpasses human thought, Trump is applying it to the entire category, which is already an ambiguous concept. This includes applying the label to everything from advanced future systems to existing music generation tools.
While this rebrand might benefit companies invested in superintelligence, such as Meta and Microsoft, forcing immediate adoption dilutes the term's meaning. It undermines the ability to market new products as "superintelligent" and creates a downgrade in industry nomenclature. Furthermore, Trump's history of naming things suggests these attempts are often more insulting than descriptive.
Trump will face challenges in convincing other branches of government to adopt the term. He cannot legally ban Congress from using the phrase, and it remains embedded in existing legislation, such as the Take It Down Act. As regulatory appetite grows, Republican lawmakers may resist adopting a name that is unintuitive and politically charged.
Confusion is further compounded by political figures using the term correctly for different purposes. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sponsored a bill in September called the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, utilizing the technical definition of the term to restrict powerful AI systems.
Trump enjoys naming things, but his linguistic victories usually rely on simplicity or humor. "Super intelligence" appears to be a weak euphemism. Given the public's tangible grievances regarding data centers and industry practices, insisting the technology is "super" does little to address these issues. Instead, Trump's aggressive rebranding makes him and the industry appear weak.
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