U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account that anyone who uses the term “artificial intelligence” instead of his preferred “superintelligence” will be considered an enemy of the country.
This message follows a prior instruction from the president in late September directing federal agencies to remove the “outdated” term “artificial intelligence” from official documents and replace it with the word he advocates, “superintelligence.” According to Trump, the adjective “artificial” misrepresents the technology, while “superintelligence” better conveys its extraordinary power.
Why experts see problems with the change
Observers in the technology sector point to two principal issues:
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The terminology is already occupied within the field. The term “superintelligence” (SI) is commonly associated with ASI (artificial superintelligence), a hypothetical future level that would far exceed human cognitive capacities. Current language models have not even fully reached AGI (artificial general intelligence) levels.
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There is an international abbreviation conflict. The acronym ‘SI’ already refers to Système International d’Unités, the International System of Units, so adopting the same shorthand could create confusion in global contexts.
Practical consequences
If the White House directive is implemented, it could prompt legal and administrative language changes across federal documents and communications. However, the technology community and international organizations are likely to resist a terminology shift that clashes with established technical usage and internationally recognized abbreviations.
Timeline and context
- Late September: Donald Trump ordered federal institutions to stop using the “outdated” term and to adopt “superintelligence.”
- Recent Truth Social post: the president declared users of the term “artificial intelligence” to be enemies of the country.
These moves form part of a broader political and technical debate about the future and governance of AI. The dispute over naming touches on practical issues of communication, regulatory clarity, and international cooperation.
Tags: Donald Trump, White House, artificial intelligence, superintelligence, technology sector, language models
