Trump decided to change AI's name – but the world wasn't so impressed

US President Donald Trump announced in a speech at the UN that the official terminology would be changed from "artificial intelligence" to "superintelligence" (SI) in all government documents. The move was intended to demonstrate technological superiority ahead of a summit with the Chinese president, but faced heavy skepticism from computer and ethics experts, and a wave of mockery and memes on social media.

US President Donald Trump used his annual address to the UN General Assembly in New York to announce an official change in global terminology: the term "artificial intelligence" (AI) will be replaced in all US government documents with the term "superintelligence" (SI). The move was intended to project unwavering American technological strength ahead of an expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the issue of AI leadership will be at the center of discussions. However, reactions from the tech world were skeptical. Experts like Simon Coghlan, a lecturer in digital ethics at the University of Melbourne, noted that the term exaggerates current capabilities. Computer scientist Kukil Jaideka added that the name borrows prestige from a hypothetical term that has not yet been realized. Asian academia also expressed doubt; Ben Leong from the National University of Singapore noted that professionals would reserve the term for truly advanced stages. Platform X was flooded with satirical memes mocking Trump's habit of renaming things. The choice of term was made after polls among his followers on Truth Social and X, where the names "supreme intelligence" and "extreme intelligence" were also proposed.