Trump Says AI Is Now Super Intelligence. What’s Really Super Is the Internet Response
If artificial intelligence isn’t called AI, does that make the technology more acceptable?
Speaking to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he wanted future US government documents to use the term “super intelligence” or “SI” instead of “artificial intelligence” because it’s “more accurate.”
“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake,” the president said at the UN. “It is not fake. It’s actually amazing.”
And to honor the rebrand, Trump said, “Welcome to the new world of super intelligence — SI.”
As of yet, there doesn’t appear to be an official government order forcing a change from AI to SI. A White House representative referred CNET to the president’s UN comments.
The president was still using the term AI as of Saturday, when he proposed an AI Force as a follow-up to the Space Force, the space service branch established in 2019.
Then, on Monday, Trump posted a poll to Truth Social and X, asking people to vote for a new term to replace AI: “superior intelligence,” “extreme intelligence,” or “supreme intelligence.” In that instance, “superior intelligence” took the lead before the poll closed. (The president blamed low votes for “supreme intelligence” on the public’s views of the Supreme Court.)
Another poll, posted less than an hour later, asked people to decide between “super intelligence” or “superior intelligence.” In that case, “super” won by a razor-thin margin.
“Which name do we like for the new phenomena — SUPER INTELLIGENCE VS. SUPERIOR INTELLIGENCE?” – President Donald J. Trump
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 21, 2026
This is hardly the first name change under the Trump administration. A January 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in official documents. Just last month, Trump ordered Lake Ontario to be designated Lake America. There’s also an ongoing battle over adding the president’s name to the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Get ready for more semantic chaos. The term AI is already a well-established part of the lexicon. An even stickier problem is that Trump’s proposed nomenclature hijacks a term that already has a distinct meaning in the tech world. Superintelligence, as a single word, is used to refer to a hypothetical AI model that can outthink and outperform humans.
A ‘super’ China race
Social media commenters quickly found the supersnarky side of the global AI race. “China is already developing Super Duper Intelligence,” wrote Clay Jones on Bluesky.
Swimsuit issue time
Some played off the letters SI already being used for Sports Illustrated. “Really not looking forward to the swimsuit issue now,” said one Bluesky commenter.
Where’s the Trump brand?
Another assumed the president would add his brand to the new term. “I thought he would put ‘Trump’ into it somewhere. You know, like … Super Trump Intelligence…‘STI.’”
Actual intelligence?
Another X user picked an obvious retort. “‘Lack of intelligence’ is what this administration has.”
“Lack of intelligence” is what this administration has.
— Alan Luevano (@AlanLuevan27796) September 21, 2026
Slang happens
One post references the famed scene in the 2011 movie Mean Girls, where Lacey Chabert’s character, Gretchen Wieners, attempts to establish “fetch” as a new slang term.
Say sí to SI
And some memes and posts pointed out that SI spells sí, meaning “yes” in Spanish.
One referenced the famed scene from the 1996 film Independence Day, in which a fictional president, played by Bill Pullman, encourages the nation to fight against an alien attack.
Company name change?
Legendary Fox Trot cartoonist Bill Amend pointed out that changing AI to SI might have a domino effect on other businesses using the term. “OpenAI lawyers currently scrambling to lock down OpenSI trademarks and web domains…” Amend wrote on Bluesky.
What’s in a name?
And others pointed out that a name change does nothing to address any of the controversial issues about the technology, with one person writing, “Hey guys, good news! Artificial intelligence isn’t going to take away your job and destroy the planet. Super intelligence is going to take away your job and destroy the planet. OK, ciao.”
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line. See full bio
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