US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 22 September declared that his administration would replace the term 'artificial intelligence' with 'Superintelligence' across all government documents, arguing that the word 'artificial' misleadingly implied the technology was fake. The announcement came during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he also flatly rejected international efforts to govern AI development.

The Terminology Shift

Trump unveiled the rebranding in unambiguous terms, stating: '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 framed the shift as a correction of record, not a cosmetic change, adding: 'So, it's Superintelligence. In other words, welcome to the new world of Superintelligence-SI.'

Notably, Trump did not explain how the change would be implemented across federal agencies, whether it would require an executive order, or whether 'Superintelligence' would apply to all existing AI systems or only the most advanced frontier models. The practical scope of the directive thus remains unclear.

Rejection of Global AI Governance

In a sharp dig at multilateral frameworks, Trump dismissed proposals for an international AI regulatory body as a 'globalist scheme' designed to control the technology's development. '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,' he said, signalling that Washington intends to chart its own regulatory course.

This position places the US at odds with ongoing United Nations and European Union-led efforts to establish shared AI governance standards — a friction point that had already surfaced at the G20 and Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit in prior years.

Dismissing Existential Risk Warnings

Trump also pushed back against scientists and technologists who have cautioned that advanced AI systems could pose existential risks to humanity. He compared such warnings to earlier predictions about climate change, accusing their proponents of repeatedly stoking fear. 'Every major new technology brings challenges, and Superintelligence is no exception,' he said, while maintaining that the administration would use the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies to intervene when necessary — stopping short of pre-emptive regulatory curbs.

AI as Geopolitical Contest

Trump cast the race to dominate advanced AI as the defining geopolitical competition of the era, drawing an explicit link between technological leadership and global power. 'Whoever wins AI, you have to remember this. And now I say, whoever wins SI, whoever wins Superintelligence wins,' he said. He claimed the United States currently leads China and all other nations by a significant margin and vowed to preserve that edge. 'We're leading now over China by a lot and everyone else and we're going to keep it that way,' Trump said.

He also ruled out any restraints on AI's growth trajectory, comparing its potential impact to that of the Industrial Revolution and the internet. 'I'm not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution,' he added.

What Happens Next

The administration has yet to issue any executive order or agency directive formalising the terminology change, and no timeline has been provided. Observers will watch whether major federal departments — including the Department of Defense, National Security Agency, and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — adopt 'Superintelligence' in official communications, or whether the declaration remains rhetorical. Internationally, no country has indicated it will follow Washington's lead on the rebrand.