Trump orders US diplomats worldwide to drop 'AI' and use 'super intelligence' instead

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026.

President Donald Trump has directed the State Department to instruct diplomats across the world to stop using the term 'artificial intelligence' and replace it with 'super intelligence', following his announcement at the United Nations General Assembly this week. The rebrand mirrors language Trump championed at the UN, where he declared AI would henceforth be known as SI. At least one Democratic senator has already fired back, mocking the linguistic shift with a pointed two-word retort. Critics warn the term 'superintelligence' already carries a precise and deeply contested meaning in philosophy and technology circles.

Philosopher Nick Bostrom's 2014 bestseller 'Superintelligence' defined the term as an AI that can meaningfully outstrip all human intelligence — far beyond current chatbots.

The book is widely read in Silicon Valley, cited by figures including Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Elon Musk, raising alarm that Trump's inner circle is steering policy toward that vision.

A Democratic senator publicly ridiculed the rebrand, signalling that the terminology fight will follow Trump into Capitol Hill battles over AI regulation.