In his UN General Assembly speech, President Trump says the US is “officially” renaming AI to “super intelligence” because “artificial” makes it sound fake

The president claims the word ‘artificial’ makes intelligence fake.

The Verge 2026-09-22 Richard Lawler

Context & Ripple Effects

The terminology move extends an administration line that has paired a proposed federal AI standard with resistance to state-by-state oversight. Days earlier, Trump said he would create an AI czar and an AI Force while dismissing AI-safety concerns.

At the UN, the label change accompanies Trump's rejection of a global framework for AI control and his framing of US leadership as a strategic advantage over China. The significance is political: language is being used to define AI as a national-power issue rather than primarily a safety-governance issue.

First-order effects

US official documents adopting the new label would change the terminology used by federal agencies and their contractors when referring to AI.
The administration gives its AI czar and proposed AI Force a public framing aligned with strategic capability rather than risk management.

Second-order effects

US diplomats entering international AI discussions face a more overtly sovereignty-focused posture after Trump rejected global control of the technology at the UN.
A federal terminology change may add friction for intelligence and security personnel: commenters noted that “SI” already carries meanings in classified-information contexts.

Third-order effects

If the federal-standard, AI-czar, and anti-international-control positions are carried into policy, US AI governance is moving toward state-led competitiveness with safety oversight treated as a constraint on strategic advantage.
The dispute over AI's name signals a broader contest over who sets the vocabulary and institutions for governing advanced computing: national governments or multilateral bodies.

The trend: AI is becoming an arena of sovereignty policy, with governments tying governance language and institutional control to national technological competitiveness.

Discussion

@angry_staffer @angry_staffer on x
That's going to be awkward for anyone who handles classified information since SI is an access control.
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
I really hope he pushes this on jensen
@soncharm @soncharm on x
Here we have full confirmation that Trump is actually (selflessly, I might add) engaging in a reverse-psychology AI Safety strategy by making AI seem like just totally lame and uncool and Trump-tainted that no one will want to touch it anymore
@donwinslow Don Winslow on x
He's a SUPER idiot.
@mpolymer Marc Polymeropoulos on x
😅 For those of us in the intelligence world, this is gonna screw everyone up..... SI means special intelligence, ie communication intercepts.
@jared_shult Jared Shult on x
Bro is renaming everything under the sun but can't fix gas prices
@unbranded63 @unbranded63 on x
This is super stupid.
@cspan @cspan on x
President Trump renames AI: “From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world's will be changed to use the much more accurate term, ‘super,’ as opposed to ‘artificial.’”
@fritzed_you Will Fritz on x
Sometimes I actually want to cry at how stupid everything is
@radiofreetom Tom Nichols on x
The president of the United States putting his cognitive and mental issues on full display before the entire world
@clashreport @clashreport on x
Trump changes AI's name to Super Intelligence (SI). He says use of the word “artificial” makes intelligence “sound fake.”
@acyn @acyn on x
Trump on his attempt to change AI to Super Intelligence: Welcome to the new world of super intelligence-SI. Let's see if that goes. It sounds much better. Let's see if I have any power. Maybe I do and maybe I don't. We're gonna find out pretty soon [video]
@atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
Trump on AI: “We will only encourage super intelligence. We're going to encourage it, not rein it in.”
@aidnmclaughlin Aidan McLaughlin on x
Trump announcing at the United Nations that he is renaming Artificial Intelligence as “Super Intelligence - SI” because AI “sounds fake.” He says it will be changed on all official US documents. “Let's see if I have any power,” he says.
@negligible_cap @negligible_cap on x
*TRUMP ON AI: ALL US DOCUMENTS WILL USE ‘SUPER INTELLIGENCE’ Lol
@latikambourke Latika M Bourke on x
Trump is addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). No complaints about faulty escalators and teleprompters so far. He's reading a prepared speech so far that reprises most of his talking points eg ‘hottest country,’ border etc.
r/politics r on reddit
Trump says US is officially renaming AI ‘super intelligence’
@socialmedialab.ca @socialmedialab.ca on bluesky
Is this like when House Republican changed French fries to freedom fries? — “Trump says US is officially renaming AI ‘super intelligence’. — The president claims the word ‘artificial’ makes intelligence fake.” www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
@emostaque Emad on x
So @ilyasut ahead of the curve again calling @ssi Safe Super Intelligence 🤔
@rapidresponse47 @rapidresponse47 on x
.@POTUS: The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme of control for Artificial Intelligence — hereinafter officially be called ‘Super Intelligence.’ Whoever wins AI, WINS! We are leading now over China, and everyone else — and I'm going to keep i…
@andrewcurran_ Andrew Curran on x
President Trump announced that he is changing the name of Artificial Intelligence to Super Intelligence. I transcribed this live from his address to the UN. 'The United States also rejects any scheme for globalist control of Artificial Intelligence, being spoken of so much now. H…
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
I think we need this to be “super! intelligence” complete with the “!” after “super” but before “intelligence”. That's the only way to make this rebrand official.
@grady_booch Grady Booch on x
Super Intelligence is such a lame idea. I'm waiting for Super Duper Intelligence, or better yet, the true pinnacle of human achievement, Trumpian Stable Genius Intelligence.

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