Trump signs order on Super Intelligence

Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14434, titled Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence, on September 29, directing federal executive agencies to replace the terms "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" with "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in their official communications, websites, reports, and non-statutory documents.

Federal agencies adopt new terminology

The Department of State has ordered its staff to use "Super Intelligence" in all official titles and the names of governance organs, systems, platforms, inventories, and programs. NASA is required to implement the change across all relevant media by the end of December, with the process involving "a major technical update capable of disrupting existing software integrations."

Order has limited scope

The executive order does not require the rewriting of regulations, presidential acts, contracts, grants, or already published historical documents. It also does not create any enforceable rights against the federal government, its agencies, or their employees. The shift is currently semantic, as "Super Intelligence" and "SI" refer to the same technologies covered by the American definition of artificial intelligence.

White House explains the rationale

The White House stated that the capabilities of cutting-edge systems "far exceed" what was imagined when the term "artificial intelligence" was coined. The new term is intended to better reflect "the promise, potential, and rapidly advancing capabilities" of these technologies. The decree charges the presidential advisor for science and technology to submit a proposal for legislative language to establish a federal definition of "Super Intelligence" and "SI" within 60 days.

Tech industry response varies

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, both close to Donald Trump, used "super intelligence" during their quarterly earnings calls. Meta's third-quarter 2026 earnings statement mentions "personal superintelligence for all," and SpaceX is renaming its AI division to SpaceXSI. However, other American tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet mostly continued to refer to "AI" during their end-of-October earnings calls.

Domain name activity rises

The .si domain, associated with Slovenia, saw a significant increase in domain name registrations in September, possibly linked to the terminology change.