WASHINGTON, September 30, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has officially ordered the replacement of the term “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) with “Super Intelligence” (SI) in official communications across the U.S. executive branch.
Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday, September 29, declaring a new era in the American government’s description of rapidly advancing artificial-intelligence technologies.
Under the order, federal departments and agencies are directed, to the maximum extent permitted by law, to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory documents.
The order does not require previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants or historical documents to be changed.
Trump: ‘Artificial’ No Longer Captures Its Power
Trump had announced the proposed name change during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, arguing that the word “artificial” no longer adequately describes the capabilities of the technology.
He said the term “Super Intelligence” better reflects the rapidly expanding capabilities and potential of modern AI systems.
The White House order similarly argues that today’s frontier systems have moved beyond simply imitating or automating individual aspects of human intelligence and increasingly amplify human creativity and ingenuity.
Trump’s New Order Defines ‘SI’
Interestingly, the executive order provides a government definition for the new terminology.
For purposes of implementing the order, “Super Intelligence” and “SI” initially cover technologies and systems encompassed by the existing legal definition of artificial intelligence.
The order also directs the President’s Assistant for Science and Technology to submit proposed legislative language within 60 days for a federal definition of “Super Intelligence” and “SI.”
Why the Move Is Raising Eyebrows
The terminology is notable because “superintelligence” already has a specific meaning in AI research, generally referring to hypothetical AI systems whose intellectual capabilities would substantially exceed those of humans.
Trump’s executive order, however, initially uses “Super Intelligence” as the government’s preferred replacement for the broader category currently known as artificial intelligence.
The move comes amid intense debate in the United States over AI development, safety, regulation and America’s technological competition with China.
Tech Giants Also Sign AI Safety Accord
Trump’s announcement came as he hosted leading technology executives at the White House.
Executives from major technology and AI companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia, Anthropic and xAI, signed a voluntary agreement concerning internal controls, external auditing and oversight of advanced AI systems.
The agreement was presented as a commitment by the industry to strengthen its own oversight of increasingly powerful AI systems.
For now, however, the biggest immediate change is linguistic: what Americans and the U.S. government have long called “AI” is now officially “Super Intelligence” in federal executive-branch communications.
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