President Donald Trump wants the U.S. government to call artificial intelligence “super intelligence”; a State Department email urged federal staff to use “SI.” Experts say tech firms may resist because the term denotes intelligence far beyond human performance.
Trump’s Truth Social poll drew more than 50,000 responses, with 65% favoring “super intelligence” over “superior intelligence.” His push comes as some states have begun imposing AI safeguards and industry leaders have warned about unchecked development. At the U.N. General Assembly, he said he would not “stifle growth” in AI, which he called “bigger than the Industrial Revolution.”
University of Chicago marketing professor Jean-Pierre Dubé said “super intelligence” has a technical meaning: an intellect that greatly exceeds human cognitive performance in virtually all domains. He said applying it to current AI could create brand confusion and deepen public distrust. Boston University professor Susan Fournier said it may suggest a more threatening, unpredictable technology and make safety regulation harder to imagine. Dubé said companies might still adopt the term if they expected benefits such as faster infrastructure development or data-center permitting.
