US Government Starts Calling AI "Super Intelligence," or SI

What happened

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, President Donald Trump said the United States will refer to artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," or "SI," in its official documents. He argued that the word "artificial" makes the technology sound fake, and said he hoped other countries would adopt the new term.

In the same speech, Trump restated his opposition to international regulation of AI.

The State Department follows

Shortly after the speech, Michael Drager, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, emailed staff under the subject line "Change in Nomenclature AI to SI." According to the Associated Press, the email told them to:

"change all references of 'Artificial Intelligence' to 'Super Intelligence' in our documents and positions."

The bureau handles US diplomatic missions to the UN and other multilateral bodies. The AP reported that US representatives used the "SI" term at a UN Security Council meeting on the technology the following day. It was not clear whether similar instructions went out across the rest of the government.

What "super intelligence" usually means

The new name covers AI in general, including today's chatbots and models. That is different from how the term is normally used in AI research, where superintelligence means a hypothetical system whose abilities exceed human intelligence across most fields. No current AI model meets that definition.

The same word appears in other recent news with that research meaning. The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar the following day, targets systems with abilities superior to humans, not AI in general (see our policy coverage).

Why it matters

"SI" is now the official US term in diplomatic documents, so expect to see it in government statements and some news coverage. Hermes Vector continues to use "AI," the term used by researchers, companies and most outlets, and notes "SI" where officials use it.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Cover image is AI-generated.