US President Donald Trump has proposed replacing the term “artificial intelligence” (AI) with “super intelligence” in official United States government documents.
Trump made the remarks on Tuesday while addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he argued that the word “artificial” gives the impression that the technology is not genuine.
According to the US president, advanced artificial intelligence is already demonstrating remarkable capabilities and should be described using a term he considers more appropriate.
“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake. It makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing, but we have to be careful,” Trump said.
He added that US government documents would henceforth use the term “super intelligence,” expressing hope that other countries would adopt the terminology.
“From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world’s will be changed to use the much more accurate term super, as opposed to artificial,” Trump said.
“So it’s super intelligence. In other words, welcome to the new world of super intelligence — SI. Let’s see if that goes. It sounds much better.”
Trump also spoke against efforts to impose tighter international restrictions on AI, saying the United States should focus on developing the technology while addressing potential risks.
He acknowledged concerns about the dangers associated with AI but argued that its potential benefits could outweigh calls to slow down its development.
“These are the same people that are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster,” he said.
Trump compared the current debate around AI with earlier warnings about other emerging technologies and issues, stressing that countries that lead in advanced AI could gain significant economic and strategic advantages.
“Whoever wins SI, whoever wins super intelligence, wins,” he said.
“That’s the group that wins. And we’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
The president said his administration would not seek to hold back the development of the technology, which he described as having the potential to be more transformative than the Industrial Revolution or the internet.
“We will only encourage super intelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in,” Trump said.
He added that the US government would continue to monitor AI-related risks through agencies including the Department of Justice and other law-enforcement bodies where necessary.
“The United States leads the world in super intelligence and will continue to do so safely and responsibly,” Trump said.
However, “superintelligence” already has an established meaning within the field of AI research. It generally refers to an intelligence that surpasses human capabilities across a wide range of intellectual tasks.
Trump’s proposed use of “super intelligence” as a replacement for “artificial intelligence” therefore differs from the term’s existing technical meaning in AI research.
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