President Donald Trump has ordered the US government to call artificial intelligence “Super Intelligence” in official policy websites, documents, and press releases. The move was announced at an event launching America.gov earlier on Tuesday, and it marks a notable shift in how the administration frames one of the defining technologies of the coming decade.
Trump signed an executive order requiring the change, though the directive applies only to future materials. Existing regulations and documents need not be altered. The president explained the reasoning at the UN General Assembly last week, where he aimed to address fears about AI advancing too quickly and posing a safety risk.
Trump Explains the Word Choice
At the America.gov launch, Trump said the word “super” is the best word of all, and it’s the simplest. He also noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited the White House last week, “loves it” too.
The president argued that “super” carries positive connotations that “artificial” lacks. He said, “It’s going to mostly be put to good use and we’ll stop the bad use.” He also said artificial “is like the news. Fake news.”
The Lunch With Musk and Huang
On Monday, Trump held a White House luncheon with tech CEOs and government officials. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk were present, flanking the president as he spoke.
Trump called the lunch “very productive” and “extremely friendly.” He said there’s “a belief that there should be tremendous self-regulation” among tech firms, adding that automatic regulation comes from the Department of Justice and the FBI.
He also said tech firms will “work to make the community happy” by providing resources and economic support needed for local data center development. He concluded that “data centers are going to be very popular.”
Why the Rebrand Matters
The executive order is a symbolic move, not a substantive one. It changes the lexicon without changing the underlying policy. That is significant because language shapes perception, and perception shapes politics.
Here is how the two approaches compare:
| Term | What It Says | What It Implies |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence | Neutral, technical | A tool, a field of study |
| Super Intelligence | Positive, powerful | A force that can be directed |
The “Super Intelligence” framing positions AI as something that can be harnessed for good while being policed against harm. It is a marketing pitch dressed as policy.
What This Means for the Industry
The order does not regulate AI systems themselves. It regulates the words used to describe them. That distinction matters for companies that deal with government contracts and public relations.
A company working on a government project might now find itself referring to “Super Intelligence” in its proposals and presentations. The language could spill into everyday conversation about the technology.
The move also signals a broader approach to technology. Trump is pushing self-regulation by companies rather than automatic regulation by the Department of Justice and the FBI.
A Light Touch on Technology
Trump’s approach to AI regulation is consistent with his broader philosophy of governance. The “Super Intelligence” rebrand fits that philosophy. It signals confidence in the technology.
The rebrand also carries a strategic edge. By positioning the term as something Xi Jinping “loves,” Trump is signaling that the United States is setting the global vocabulary on AI. That is a small victory in a contest for influence.
The order does not require existing documents to be changed, so the practical workload is minimal. But the symbolic weight is substantial. The president has told the government to talk about AI in a new way, and the government will do so.
The move is likely to be mocked by critics and celebrated by supporters. But it is a genuine attempt to shape the conversation around a technology that will define the coming decade.
The question is whether the words will stick.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs small businesses and is against any regulation that would lock them out, whether that means federal licensing of AI or naming it “Super Intelligence” on government websites. The rebrand is a marketing pitch dressed as policy, and it is the kind of administrative decision that the paper has warned against: a change that favors the big firms and makes life harder for the small ones.
The order does not regulate AI systems themselves; it regulates the words used to describe them. That is a distinction the paper has made before, in its stance against federal licensing of AI and other broad regulatory schemes that freeze today’s leaders in place. The paper’s concern is not the technology itself but the concentration of power that tends to follow it.
The rebrand is symbolic, not substantive, which is precisely the problem. Language shapes perception, and perception shapes politics. When the government decides to call AI “Super Intelligence,” it is telling the world — and every company that deals with government contracts — that this is the approved way to talk about the technology. The practical workload may be minimal, but the moat is real: the biggest firms get to set the terms, and everyone else has to follow.
Source material: “Trump orders US government to call AI ‘Super Intelligence’,” The Verge.
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