That hands-off approach aligns with Trump’s general strategy for combating AI risks. The president is so determined to win the so-called AI race that he won’t put any meaningful guardrails on the industry. Meanwhile, polls show most voters want stricter AI regulations ahead of the mid-term elections.
Critics worry that Trump’s most recent attempt to rebrand “artificial intelligence” (AI) to “super intelligence” (SI) will only confuse the public even more about AI risks, while serving primarily to make Trump feel like the US has already achieved a milestone in AI that is, in reality, quite far off.
With US firms like OpenAI seemingly losing control of their frontier models, Trump’s understanding of AI risks also continues to draw scrutiny.
But Trump wants to be trusted as the sole authority on AI, no questions asked. At a recent United Nations assembly, Trump claimed his rebrand is simply because the president thinks the word “artificial” makes the technology sound “fake,” the South China Morning Post reported. He’s used security scandals to argue that frontier AI now goes beyond “merely imitating or automating aspects of human intelligence” and that supposedly makes “super intelligence” a “better reflection” of American AI firms; “growing capabilities and potential,” SCMP reported.
Trump officials have already adopted SI as a preferred term. In the DOJ’s press release, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg declared that “SI is the defining technology of the era.” Even though AI leaders know the term is technically inaccurate, CEOs like Huang and Elon Musk have also committed to using SI.
Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told SCMP that Trump’s just trying to project American dominance while ignoring risks. By overhyping today’s AI, the president hopes his rebrand will tie his legacy to the moment AI exceeded human capabilities.
Chan joined California governor Gavin Newsom in warning that the rebrand risks heightening “some people’s perception of risk and fear” amid frontier AI firms claiming that the technology could soon pose existential risks.
Newsom outright rejected Trump’s rebrand—describing it as an “impotent and craven failure to address well-documented emerging security and safety risks.”
And “respectfully,” so does China’s foreign ministry, SCMP reported. Both governments have immense influence over AI regulations and will continue using AI, not SI.