Super Intelligence is the new official term President Trump proposed on September 22, 2026, to replace “Artificial Intelligence” across US government documents. The change, announced at the United Nations General Assembly, uses the short form “S.I.” and has not yet been codified through a formal executive order.
What is Super Intelligence(S.I.)?
Super Intelligence refers to a terminology shift proposed by President Donald Trump during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2026. Trump told the assembled delegates that the word “artificial” makes the technology sound fake, and he pushed for the US government to drop “Artificial Intelligence” in favor of “Super Intelligence” across federal paperwork. He introduced the shorthand “S.I.” as the working abbreviation and said he hoped other countries would eventually follow the same naming convention.
This is not the scientific concept of superintelligence, which researchers have used for decades to describe a hypothetical AI system that exceeds human cognitive ability. Trump’s version is a branding decision aimed at federal terminology, not a technical milestone. The proposal arrived without a signed order, a published memo, or a Federal Register entry, which places it in a different category than binding rules like Executive Order 14179 or Executive Order 14365. Readers searching Super Intelligence in the US right now are mostly trying to figure out whether this is real, whether it changes anything today, and what documents it might eventually touch.
The confusion is understandable given how fast the story moved. Within hours of the UN address, the phrase was already trending across US news outlets, social platforms, and search engines, with headlines ranging from straightforward news recaps to sharp political commentary. Some outlets treated it as a minor rhetorical flourish inside a longer speech about trade, wars, and immigration. Others treated it as the opening move in a larger rebranding campaign that could eventually touch procurement contracts, agency websites, and public-facing federal communications. Both readings can be true at once: a single sentence in a speech can be politically significant while still carrying zero legal weight until it is written into an actual order.
Interesting Facts About Super Intelligence in the US (2026)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date announced | September 22, 2026 |
| Venue | United Nations General Assembly, New York |
| Speaker | President Donald Trump |
| New term proposed | “Super Intelligence” |
| Abbreviation introduced | S.I. |
| Term being replaced | “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) |
| Stated reason | “Artificial” sounds fake; the term should reflect that the technology is real and effective |
| Global ask | Trump said he hopes other nations adopt the term too |
| Legal status as of this week | Verbal proposal; no signed executive order or Federal Register filing yet |
| Closest prior federal AI order | Executive Order 14365, signed December 11, 2025 |
Data source: White House remarks, UN General Assembly transcript, Federal Register.
The table above captures the plain facts as they stand this week. Super Intelligence in the US is, at this point, a stated preference from the President rather than a completed policy change, which matters for anyone trying to write, edit, or update federal-facing material right now. Government departments still use “Artificial Intelligence” in every active order, plan, and public filing, and nothing in the Federal Register reflects the new name as of this report’s publication date.
The gap between a presidential announcement and an actual document change is normal in US governance. Executive orders, agency memos, and statutory language typically follow weeks or months after a president signals a new direction verbally. Anyone monitoring US government AI documents should watch the Federal Register and whitehouse.gov for a formal order, since a floor speech alone does not amend existing federal text.
This is also why journalists and policy trackers tend to separate “announcement” from “implementation” when covering stories like this one. A president can signal intent on a global stage and still leave the actual paperwork untouched for months, or in some cases indefinitely, if the idea does not move forward through formal channels. Treat this section as the baseline snapshot, and treat every later section in this report as an explanation of how that baseline might shift.
What Is Super Intelligence? Meaning and Definition in 2026
Term usage in federal text (Sept 2026)
Artificial Intelligence |██████████████████████████████████████ 100%
Super Intelligence (S.I.)| 0%
| Term | Definition | Where It’s Used |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Computer systems built to perform tasks that normally need human reasoning | Every current federal order, the AI Action Plan, agency websites |
| Super Intelligence (S.I.) | Trump’s proposed replacement label for the same technology in US paperwork | Announced only; not yet present in any signed federal document |
| Superintelligence (research term) | A hypothetical AI system that surpasses human intelligence across nearly all domains | Academic and industry AI-safety literature, unrelated to Trump’s proposal |
Data source: UN General Assembly transcript; academic AI-safety literature.
The meaning of Super Intelligence in this context is purely administrative. Trump is not describing a new kind of AI system or a technical breakthrough. He is describing a word swap: replace “artificial” with “super” wherever the federal government currently writes “intelligence.” That is a branding and terminology decision, similar in spirit to past federal renaming efforts, rather than a scientific reclassification of what AI systems can do.
Confusion spreads quickly because the research community already owns the word “superintelligence,” and it means something specific and unrelated: an AI system smarter than any human across virtually every task. Trump’s Super Intelligence label borrows that word but points at ordinary, current AI tools, from chatbots to data analytics software. Readers should keep those two meanings separate. One is a presidential communications choice. The other is a decades-old research concept debated by computer scientists.
What Did Trump Call AI? The 2026 Terminology Shift Explained
Trump's stated reasoning (share of remarks)
"Artificial sounds fake" |███████████████████████████ 55%
"Technology is amazing" |███████████████ 30%
"Caution still needed" |███████ 15%
| Statement Element | What Trump Said (Paraphrased) |
|---|---|
| On the word “artificial” | Called it misleading, arguing it makes the technology sound fake |
| On the technology itself | Described it as genuinely impressive and not fake |
| On caution | Said the US still has to be careful with the technology |
| On the new label | Directed that US documents use “Super” instead of “Artificial” going forward |
| On global reach | Expressed hope that other countries adopt the same term |
Data source: Live UN General Assembly remarks, September 22, 2026.
Trump called AI “Super Intelligence” in his UN address, framing it as a more accurate description of what the technology actually does. His comments centered on public perception. He argued that calling something “artificial” undersells it, and that swapping in “super” better reflects the capability of modern systems. This is consistent with his past communications style, where he has renamed geographic features, federal initiatives, and policy programs to fit a preferred narrative.
The announcement did not include technical detail about which agencies must comply, what timeline applies, or how contractors and federal vendors should update their own paperwork. Without an executive order, a Presidential Memorandum, or updated agency guidance, “Super Intelligence” remains a stated preference rather than an enforceable standard. Federal employees and government contractors currently have no binding instruction telling them to stop writing “Artificial Intelligence” in official work product.
Why Did Trump Rename AI in 2026? Reasons Behind the Change
Trump's public AI-policy priorities since 2025
Deregulation & industry growth |████████████████████████ 48%
US global AI leadership |████████████████████ 38%
Terminology / branding |███████ 14%
| Prior Action | Date | Relevance to the Rename |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Order 14179 | January 23, 2025 | Rolled back prior AI safety rules; framed AI as a growth priority |
| AI Action Plan | July 23, 2025 | Laid out 90+ federal policy actions to keep US AI leadership |
| Executive Order 14365 | December 11, 2025 | Pushed a unified national AI framework, limiting conflicting state rules |
| UN General Assembly remarks | September 22, 2026 | Proposed the “Super Intelligence” / S.I. rename |
Data source: Federal Register; White House policy archive.
Why did Trump rename AI in 2026 comes down to messaging, not technical policy. Across his second term, his administration has consistently pushed a pro-growth, deregulation-first approach to artificial intelligence, arguing that the US needs to win a global race against rivals developing the same technology. The rename fits that pattern. Trump has repeatedly argued that public perception of AI as risky or synthetic could slow adoption, cost jobs in the sector, or hand an advantage to competing nations that market their own AI programs more aggressively.
He also used the UN platform to dismiss AI-risk warnings directly, comparing them to past predictions about climate change that he said did not materialize. That framing suggests the rename is partly a rebuttal to AI-safety advocates who warn about job loss, misinformation, and loss of control over advanced systems. Calling the technology “super” rather than “artificial” reframes the entire public conversation around capability and pride rather than caution and risk, which lines up with the administration’s broader deregulation stance from Executive Order 14179 onward.
Artificial Intelligence vs Super Intelligence in 2026: Key Differences
Public federal usage today
"Artificial Intelligence" |████████████████████████████████████ 100%
"Super Intelligence" | 0%
| Aspect | Artificial Intelligence | Super Intelligence (Proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Used in every current federal order and plan | Not yet used in any signed federal document |
| Origin of term | Standard computer-science term since the 1950s | Proposed by Trump at the UN on September 22, 2026 |
| Abbreviation | AI | S.I. |
| Scope of change | N/A | US federal documents first, other countries invited to follow |
| Backing | Decades of academic and industry standardization | A single UN speech; no executive order signed yet |
Data source: UN General Assembly transcript; Federal Register document search.
The Artificial Intelligence vs Super Intelligence question matters because the two terms currently exist on different legal footing. “Artificial Intelligence” is embedded in binding federal text: executive orders, the AI Action Plan, procurement rules, and agency websites all use it today. “Super Intelligence” exists only as a spoken proposal from a single address, with zero signed documents using the new phrase as of this week.
That gap is exactly why so many people are searching for clarity. A presidential preference stated on a world stage carries political weight and often signals where formal policy is headed, but it does not automatically rewrite existing law, contracts, or agency style guides. Until the administration issues a directive through the Federal Register or an executive order, “Artificial Intelligence” remains the only term with actual legal standing in US government AI documents.
US Government AI Documents 2026: What Changes and What Stays
| Document | Current Term Used | Expected to Change Immediately? |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Order 14179 | “Artificial Intelligence” | No — stands as written unless formally amended |
| Executive Order 14365 | “Artificial Intelligence” | No — stands as written unless formally amended |
| AI Action Plan | “Artificial Intelligence” / “AI” | No — no update announced yet |
| Federal agency websites | “Artificial Intelligence” | No — pending formal guidance |
| Future orders/memos | Unknown | Possibly, if the administration formalizes “Super Intelligence” |
Data source: Federal Register; whitehouse.gov presidential actions archive.
Will US government documents change from AI to Super Intelligence? Not automatically, and not yet. Renaming a term inside binding federal text usually requires a new executive order, an amendment to existing orders, or updated agency style guidance distributed through official channels. None of that has happened as of this report’s publication. Existing orders like 14179 and 14365 still read “Artificial Intelligence” word for word, and the AI Action Plan has not been revised.
If the administration wants the change to stick across agencies, the standard path involves a signed directive published in the Federal Register, followed by internal agency memos updating style guides, procurement language, and public-facing communications. That process historically takes weeks to months, not days. Businesses and contractors that work with federal agencies should treat “Super Intelligence” as a signal of likely future direction rather than a term they need to adopt in contracts or compliance paperwork today.
When Did Trump Announce Super Intelligence? 2026 Timeline
Key 2025–2026 AI policy dates
Jan 2025 |████████ EO 14179 signed
Jul 2025 |████████ AI Action Plan released
Dec 2025 |████████ EO 14365 signed
Sep 2026 |████████ "Super Intelligence" proposed at UN
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 23, 2025 | Trump signs Executive Order 14179, rolling back prior AI safety directives |
| July 23, 2025 | White House releases the AI Action Plan, covering 90+ federal actions |
| December 11, 2025 | Trump signs Executive Order 14365 for a unified national AI framework |
| September 22, 2026 | Trump proposes renaming AI to “Super Intelligence” during his UN General Assembly address |
Data source: Federal Register; White House presidential actions archive.
When did Trump announce Super Intelligence? The proposal came during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, 2026, in New York. He raised it while discussing broader US technology leadership and pushed back on warnings from AI-safety researchers, comparing them to earlier predictions about climate change that he said proved wrong. The rename was framed as a confidence statement about American AI capability rather than a standalone policy rollout.
This timeline shows a pattern rather than an isolated event. Over roughly 20 months, the administration moved from rolling back the prior AI executive order, to publishing a detailed action plan, to a national framework limiting conflicting state AI laws, and now to a public push on terminology itself. Each step built toward positioning US AI policy as growth-first and internationally competitive, which is the same frame Trump used when introducing “Super Intelligence” at the UN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Super Intelligence the New Name for AI in 2026?
Not officially. Trump proposed Super Intelligence as the replacement term for US government documents during his September 22, 2026 UN address, but no executive order or Federal Register filing has made the switch binding yet. Current federal text still uses “Artificial Intelligence.”
What Does Super Intelligence Mean in Simple Terms?
In this context, Super Intelligence simply means “AI, renamed.” It is not a new technology or a smarter version of existing systems. It is a proposed label swap for the same tools already in use, from government software to everyday consumer AI products.
Will US Government Documents Change From AI to Super Intelligence?
Possibly, but not immediately. A full switch would need a signed executive order or formal agency guidance updating style rules across departments. As of this report, existing orders and the AI Action Plan still read “Artificial Intelligence.”
Did Trump Sign an Executive Order for Super Intelligence?
No. The proposal was delivered verbally during his UN General Assembly speech. It has not, as of this week, been followed by a signed executive order, presidential memorandum, or Federal Register entry.
What Is the Abbreviation for Super Intelligence?
Trump introduced “S.I.” as the shorthand for the proposed term, intended to replace “AI” the same way “AI” currently stands for “Artificial Intelligence.”
Is “Super Intelligence” the Same as Superintelligence in AI Research?
No. Researchers use “superintelligence” to describe a hypothetical AI system that outperforms humans across nearly every cognitive task. Trump’s Super Intelligence is an administrative rename of current AI technology, not a claim about a new capability level.
Where Did Trump Announce the Super Intelligence Name Change?
He announced it during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22, 2026.
Does This Apply to Private Companies Too?
Not directly. Trump’s remarks focused on US government documents. He expressed hope that other countries, and by extension other institutions, would adopt the term, but nothing announced so far requires private companies to change their own branding or product naming.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.