President Trump Proposed Renaming AI Super Intelligence
The suggestion aims to replace the industry standard term with a designation that shares an existing acronym.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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President Donald Trump proposed renaming artificial intelligence to super intelligence, or SI, during a speech at the United Nations. The rebranding effort was met with immediate public commentary, including a segment on The Daily Show.
Why it matters
The proposal touches on the public-facing nomenclature of the artificial intelligence sector, a field currently defined by rapid research and development. The suggestion highlights how high-level political rhetoric can intersect with the established terminology used by technical and media institutions.
The proposed term super intelligence utilizes the acronym SI, which is currently established in the media landscape as the identifier for Sports Illustrated.
The players
Donald Trump
The current President of the United States.
Desi Lydic
A correspondent on The Daily Show who provided satirical commentary on the proposal.
The Daily Show
A long-running television news satire program.
The details
The President delivered the proposal from a teleprompter while addressing the United Nations. The shift seeks to label existing machine learning capabilities and research as super intelligence, a move that draws a parallel to the long-standing branding used by the publication Sports Illustrated.
Timeline
September 22, 2026: Donald Trump delivered the speech at the United Nations.
The Tech Race
The proposal marks a departure from the established industry-standard term artificial intelligence used by researchers and engineers. The shift in naming conventions aims to align the field's branding with a term that already carries distinct media recognition.
The proposal currently serves as a rhetorical suggestion with no immediate changes to existing industry hardware, software platforms, or professional workflows. Observers should track whether the administration pursues formal guidelines or standards to integrate this terminology into official policy.
The takeaway
The proposal underscores the ongoing tension between public-facing branding and established technical nomenclature in the field of machine learning. Readers should monitor whether subsequent policy documents or official White House communications formally adopt the new SI acronym in lieu of current terminology.
Further reading
For more on the current terminology and trajectory of the field, visit the Artificial Intelligence section.
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