Trump Directs US Government to Adopt ‘Super Intelligence’ Terminology

WASHINGTON, September 30, 2026: US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal departments and agencies to replace the terms “artificial intelligence” and “AI” with “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in official executive-branch communications, marking a significant shift in the terminology the US government uses to describe rapidly advancing intelligent technologies.

Under the executive order, agencies are instructed, to the maximum extent permitted by law, to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory materials. The directive does not require previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants or historical documents to be changed retroactively.

The order also calls for the development of a federal definition of “Super Intelligence” and “SI.” The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology has been given 60 days to submit proposed legislative language that would establish a federal definition reflecting the rapidly advancing capabilities of these technologies and determine whether the existing statutory definition should be modified or expanded.

The Trump administration said the terminology change is intended to reflect what it describes as the transformative capabilities and potential of emerging intelligent technologies. The executive order argues that the technologies now being developed extend considerably beyond the capabilities envisioned when the term “artificial intelligence” was introduced.

President Trump announced the terminology shift during an event at the White House, where he said the government would officially refer to the technology as “Super Intelligence.” The administration has framed the change as part of a broader effort to highlight technological innovation and the United States’ position in the development and deployment of advanced intelligent systems.

The terminology change comes as the Trump administration continues to place technological development, innovation and US competitiveness at the centre of its policy agenda. The White House has also launched America.gov, a unified digital gateway intended to provide Americans with access to federal information and services, with the platform incorporating advanced technology and what the administration now calls Super Intelligence.

The announcement also followed a White House meeting with executives from leading technology and AI companies, during which major firms agreed to a voluntary framework addressing safety and oversight of advanced systems. Reuters reported that executives from companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Google and Nvidia participated in discussions on safety standards, independent auditing and measures intended to reduce risks associated with increasingly capable systems.

The new terminology applies specifically to US federal government communications and does not itself change the terminology used internationally, by other governments, universities or private technology companies. The executive order also links “Super Intelligence” and “SI” to the existing statutory concept of artificial intelligence unless and until a new definition is established through subsequent presidential action consistent with law or by Congress.

The move places terminology at the centre of a wider debate over how governments should describe, regulate and manage increasingly capable computational systems, while the administration continues to emphasise technological innovation and the expansion of US leadership in the sector.