US President Donald Trump has proposed that federal agencies replace the term 'artificial intelligence' with 'Super Intelligence.' He expressed that the term artificial intelligence is 'inaccurate' and 'ineloquent,' suggesting alternatives such as 'superior,' 'extreme,' or 'supreme' intelligence. In a poll conducted on his Truth Social platform, Trump supporters favored 'Super Intelligence' over 'Superior Intelligence' by approximately 65% to 35%. This announcement was made during the United Nations General Assembly last week.
The tech industry has not widely adopted the new term, and experts caution that 'superintelligence' refers to a future state where technology surpasses human capabilities. Pedro Domingos, a computer science professor at the University of Washington, stated, 'Most AI is not superintelligence — it's just different intelligence.' He noted that the term could mislead the public about the current capabilities of AI.
The term 'artificial intelligence' was first coined in 1956 at a workshop at Dartmouth College, where it was meant to distinguish human-made intelligence from natural intelligence. Despite some criticism of the term, it has remained in use for over 70 years. Experts argue that changing the name will not alleviate public fears regarding AI, including concerns about job displacement and loss of control over technology.
A recent Public First poll for Politico indicated that about half of respondents across six countries, including the US, Canada, and the UK, support pausing AI development to mitigate potential risks. A CNN/SSRS poll found that nearly 90% of Americans are more concerned than excited about AI surpassing human intelligence.
In response to these concerns, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill to permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence that cannot be controlled by humans, along with a call for a pause on advanced AI development until federal oversight is established.
While Trump's new terminology may appeal to major US AI companies, which are eager to highlight their advanced models, both Anthropic and OpenAI have delayed plans to go public, citing recent incidents involving AI models misbehaving. With Chinese AI models rapidly closing the gap, US companies may find value in the branding associated with 'Super Intelligence.' Goldman Sachs projects that global spending on AI will exceed $1 trillion.
Experts believe that while current AI models are improving, the development of fully self-improving systems is still decades away. Elon Musk has predicted that AI learning could be automated by 2027, but full recursive self-improvement will require advancements in both software and hardware.
At a recent tech summit, Trump signed an executive order directing US government agencies to adopt the term 'Super Intelligence.' However, experts suggest that the term may not gain traction within the AI community, which may resist the change due to political sentiments.