Trump’s AI Renaming Effort Feels Unauthentic
President Donald Trump has a talent for flipping language to his advantage. His initial presidential campaign thrived on nicknames like “Little Marco” and “Crooked Hillary,” and he transformed “fake news” from a term for dubious media into a broad insult aimed at the press. Recently, he’s set his sights on artificial intelligence, branding it as “super” while using “artificial” as a pejorative and labeling opponents as “THE ENEMY.” Some prominent figures in the AI sector are backing him, but he’s taken on a challenging linguistic fight that may not yield the results he desires.
A long-time advocate for AI, Trump has ramped up his pro-robot rhetoric following discussions about the pace of AI development last month. He believes that concerns over AI safety are exaggerated and insists that U.S. companies should accelerate their efforts, including building more data centers, which he claims will be “very popular” despite contrary polling. He’s also pushing for a rebranding of AI, declaring in a recent United Nations speech that the term “artificial” makes intelligence seem fake and vowing to rename it “super intelligence.” Last week, he followed up with an executive order banning the use of “AI” wherever possible.
Changes have come quickly. The U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), previously known as the AI Safety Institute, has been rebranded as the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI). Justice Department press releases now include phrases like “Super Intelligence-Assisted Music Streaming Fraud” to describe a man who flooded streaming platforms with AI-generated songs from 2017 to 2024. On Thursday, Trump stated that anyone using the term “Artificial Intelligence” instead of the newly preferred “Super Intelligence” is considered “THE ENEMY!”
Tech leaders who previously supported Trump have quickly jumped on board. Elon Musk, dubbed Trump’s “First Buddy,” has pledged to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, while Jeff Bezos expressed his approval, stating that “artificial is not a very flattering thing.” Jensen Huang, who Trump called out during a live event to assert that “robots will not be taking over,” has also embraced the new terminology. Sam Altman has praised it as well, although he mentioned that OpenAI won’t be changing its name.
As Trump pushes for the adoption of “SI,” he’s increasingly using “artificial” in a manner reminiscent of his earlier catchphrases like “hoax” and “fake.” He recently announced that he would retire the term “fake news media” in favor of “artificial media,” and during an October 5th rally, he dismissed concerns about war-related price increases as “just artificial.”
While some in the AI industry seem to support “SI,” Trump is effectively demanding a significant shift in industry terminology. The term “superintelligence” has existed long before Trump’s affection for “super,” having been popularized in a 2014 book by Nick Bostrom. It refers to highly advanced AI that could surpass human intelligence, rather than the broader category of AI, which is already a vague term. This is just one of several industry buzzwords aimed at defining what comes next in AI development.
Trump’s embrace of “super intelligence” might benefit companies already aligned with the concept, such as Meta and Microsoft. As public sentiment shifts against AI, some in the industry may welcome a rebrand. However, forcing the immediate adoption of “SI” could hinder companies’ ability to market new, exciting AI products as “superintelligent,” instead diluting the term to encompass everything from future AI advancements to outdated music generation tools. The added space in “super intelligence” also feels like a downgrade, as Trump’s attempts at creating appealing names often fall short of his insults.
Moreover, Trump will need to persuade other branches of government to adopt this new terminology. He cannot prevent Congress from using “artificial intelligence,” and the term appears in existing legislation, including his own Take It Down Act, which agencies will need to reference in legal arguments. As calls for more AI regulation grow, congressional Republicans will face the challenge of whether to align with Trump on a term that many find confusing and burdened by his unpopular pro-industry stance.
Adding to the complexity, pro-regulation figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have already been using the traditional definition of superintelligence in their efforts to regulate powerful AI, having co-sponsored the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act earlier this September.
Trump enjoys naming things, but his linguistic victories usually succeed when they’re catchy, like simple nicknames or humorous phrases. “Super intelligence,” however, comes off more as a euphemism. Many Americans have real concerns about the industry, especially regarding data centers, and insisting that the technology is “super” does little to alleviate these worries. In fact, Trump’s escalating attempts to force a friendlier term for AI may ultimately make him—and the industry—appear quite vulnerable.
