Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Replace ‘Artificial Intelligence’ With ‘Super Intelligence’

President Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to begin replacing the familiar terms “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” with “Super Intelligence” and “SI,” a change aimed at reshaping how the executive branch describes rapidly advancing computer technology.

Trump signed the executive order, titled “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” on Sept. 29. The White House published both the order and an accompanying fact sheet announcing the terminology change. White House

Under the order, executive departments and agencies are directed, “to the maximum extent permitted by law,” to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, websites, reports, public communications, policy documents and other non-statutory materials. White House

The change does not mean the federal government has legally created an entirely new category of technology.

At least for now, the order defines “Super Intelligence” using the existing federal statutory definition of artificial intelligence contained in Title 15 of the U.S. Code. That means the immediate change is largely one of federal terminology rather than a wholesale legal reclassification of the technology. White House

Why Change AI to SI?

The Trump administration argues that the term “artificial intelligence” no longer adequately describes the capabilities of increasingly powerful systems.

In the order, Trump said today’s frontier systems go beyond simply imitating or automating individual aspects of human intelligence and increasingly amplify human creativity and capabilities in fields ranging from science to medicine.

The administration said “Super Intelligence” better reflects what it sees as the technology’s growing capabilities and potential.

That characterization represents the administration’s rationale for the terminology change rather than a new technical definition accepted across the broader technology or scientific community.

The executive order applies specifically to the executive branch and does not itself rename the technology for private companies, universities, news organizations, state and local governments or the general public. It also does not change terminology already established by federal statute. White House

Existing Documents Won’t Have to Be Rewritten

Federal agencies will not have to go back through years of government records replacing every reference to AI.

The order specifically says previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants and other historical documents do not have to be changed. White House

That distinction could become important because Congress has already used “artificial intelligence” and “AI” in federal law. A president can direct executive agencies on terminology in many administrative communications, but changing terminology written into statutes generally requires congressional action.

The order acknowledges that issue by calling for proposed legislation.

White House Given 60 Days to Develop New Definition

Within 60 days, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology is directed to submit proposed legislative language establishing a federal definition of “Super Intelligence” and “SI.”

That proposal is expected to examine whether the new definition should modify, expand or replace the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence.

It must also identify potential amendments to existing federal laws that refer to “artificial intelligence” or “AI” and recommend any additional presidential or executive actions needed to implement the terminology throughout the executive branch. White House

Congress would ultimately have to act on proposed changes to terminology contained in federal statutes.

Part of Broader Technology Policy

The White House presented the executive order as part of the administration’s broader effort to expand U.S. development and deployment of advanced computing technologies.

In its accompanying fact sheet, the administration pointed to its previous technology initiatives, including the July 2025 release of America’s AI Action Plan. The White House said that plan contained more than 90 federal actions involving innovation, infrastructure and U.S. technological leadership. PublicNow

The administration also cited more than $5 billion announced for the Genesis Mission, which it describes as an effort to use advanced intelligence systems to accelerate research in science, medicine, energy and manufacturing. PublicNow

Some of the language in the White House fact sheet—including descriptions of previous Biden administration policies as “overreaching and harmful”—reflects the Trump administration’s characterization of those policies rather than a neutral assessment of them. PublicNow

AI Isn’t Disappearing Everywhere

Despite the sweeping language of the executive order, Americans shouldn’t expect the term “AI” to disappear from everyday use.

The order governs terminology within the federal executive branch and explicitly recognizes existing statutory language. Private businesses, technology companies, researchers, media organizations and the public remain free to continue using “artificial intelligence” and “AI.”

For the federal executive branch, however, new government communications are set to look noticeably different.

If the order is implemented as written, Americans visiting federal agency websites, reading government reports or reviewing new executive-branch policy documents will increasingly encounter two different initials for a technology that has become familiar under another name:

AI is becoming SI—at least inside the executive branch. White House

Read the Sept. 29 executive order at the White House