Trump pushes 'super intelligence' to replace AI, sparks social media mockery
At the UN, Trump argued the term 'artificial intelligence' sounds fake and proposed 'SI' instead—prompting jokes about Sports Illustrated and Mean Girls.
What to know
- Trump proposed at the UN that U.S. government documents use "super intelligence" (SI) instead of AI, arguing "artificial" makes the technology sound fake; no formal order has been issued.
- The rebrand creates confusion: "superintelligence" already refers to a distinct concept in AI research (hypothetical systems that outperform humans), and SI overlaps with Sports Illustrated.
- Social media response was dominated by sarcasm and jokes, treating the effort as semantic theater alongside Trump's other naming initiatives (Gulf of America, Lake America).
- The term AI is deeply embedded in global lexicon and technology discourse, making the proposed change difficult to enforce or adopt.
The dispute None detected—commenters broadly agreed the rebrand was absurd or impractical; no voices defended it.
This is a ridiculous semantic stunt that won't work and reflects confused judgment.
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“'Lack of intelligence' is what this administration has.”
X user · X ↗
The rebrand is impractical because SI already means something else in tech and conflicts with other established uses.
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“Really not looking forward to the swimsuit issue now.”
Bluesky commenter · Bluesky ↗
Trump will inevitably put his own name into the terminology, making it even more grandiose.
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“I thought he would put 'Trump' into it somewhere. You know, like … Super Trump Intelligence…'STI.'”
Bluesky commenter · Bluesky ↗
“I thought he would put 'Trump' into it somewhere. You know, like … Super Trump Intelligence…'STI.'”
Bluesky commenter, Social media commenter · Bluesky ↗
Donald Trump President of the United StatesClay Jones Social media commenter
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Trump tells UN to rebrand AI as "super intelligence" — Speaking to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said he wanted future US government documents to use "super intelligence" or "SI" instead of "artificial intelligence," claiming it is "more accurate" because the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake. He framed the change as honoring a rebrand: "Welcome to the new world of super intelligence—SI."
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CNET notes terminology already has distinct meaning in tech world
Coverage explains that "superintelligence" as a single word already refers in the tech industry to a hypothetical AI model that can outthink and outperform humans, making Trump's proposed nomenclature problematic for clarity. The term AI is already deeply embedded in global lexicon, creating friction with the proposed change.
“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake. It is not fake. It's actually amazing.”
— Donald Trump, President of the United States · source -
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Social media users mock the rebrand with jokes and memes
Internet commenters quickly responded with sarcasm across Bluesky and X. Users joked about China developing "Super Duper Intelligence," the conflict between SI and Sports Illustrated's use of the abbreviation, speculation about "Super Trump Intelligence" (STI), and comparisons to the "fetch" scene in Mean Girls. One X user called it "Lack of intelligence."
“China is already developing Super Duper Intelligence.”
— Clay Jones -
first by CNET, 1d ago
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background
Trump polls public on alternative terms to replace AI — Trump posted a poll to Truth Social and X asking voters to choose between "superior intelligence," "extreme intelligence," or "supreme intelligence." "Superior intelligence" took the lead before the poll closed. A second poll posted less than an hour later asked voters to choose between "super intelligence" or "superior intelligence"; "super" won by a narrow margin.
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background
Trump proposes AI Force military branch — Speaking Saturday, Trump proposed an AI Force as a follow-up to the Space Force, using the term AI in official capacity.