Trump made the announcement on Tuesday, September 22, during his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he also rejected what he described as attempts to establish global control over artificial intelligence.
“The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the Artificial Intelligence being spoken of so much now — hereinafter officially called ‘Super Intelligence,’” Trump said.
Explaining the proposed terminology, Trump said the word “artificial” makes the technology sound fake.
“It makes it sound fake. And it is not fake; it's actually amazing, but we have to be careful,” he said.
Trump said the terminology would be changed across U.S. government documents and expressed hope that other countries would adopt the same language.
“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,” he said.
He subsequently referred to the technology as “Super Intelligence — SI.”
AI Regulation Takes Centre Stage
The announcement came as artificial intelligence emerged as a major issue during this year's UN General Assembly, with governments and technology leaders debating how to balance technological development with concerns about safety, accountability and human control.
Trump reiterated his opposition to broad new regulation of the technology, saying his administration would encourage its development while monitoring potential risks.
“I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. would “only encourage” super intelligence rather than rein it in.
He nevertheless said U.S. authorities would intervene if necessary.
“We’re going to watch it closely through the Department of Justice,” Trump said, referring to the government's approach to the sector.
A New Name for an Existing Technology
While Trump presented “Super
Intelligence” as a new and more accurate description, the term superintelligence already has an established meaning in AI research. It generally refers to a form of machine intelligence that substantially exceeds human cognitive capabilities.
Axios reported that it remained unclear whether Trump intended to invoke that existing technical concept or simply use the phrase as a new name for artificial intelligence.
The announcement therefore represents a proposed change in U.S. government terminology rather than the creation of a new category of technology.
Trump Says U.S. Must Lead
Trump also framed the technology as a strategic competition, saying the United States currently leads China and other countries in the field and should maintain that position.
"Whoever wins SI, whoever wins Superintelligence wins,” he said during his address.
His comments came amid a broader international debate over whether rapidly advancing AI requires stronger safeguards or regulatory frameworks.
The White House's official summary of Trump's UN speech confirmed his declaration that the United States rejects efforts to establish a global system of control over AI and that the technology would henceforth be referred to as “Super Intelligence.”
For now, the announcement changes the terminology Trump says the U.S. government will use. Whether “Super Intelligence” gains wider international adoption remains to be seen.
0 Comments