State Department Directs Diplomats to Use 'Super Intelligence' Instead of AI
The directive follows President Trump's call to rebrand the technology during his address at the U.N. General Assembly.
The State Department's Bureau of International Organization Affairs has instructed its diplomats to replace the term "artificial intelligence" with "super intelligence" in all official communications. The directive was issued via email following President Donald Trump's announcement at the U.N. General Assembly this week that he would officially change the name of the technology.
In an email titled "Change in Nomenclature AI to SI," obtained by The Associated Press, deputy assistant secretary of state Michael Drager informed employees that all references to "Artificial Intelligence" should be changed to "Super Intelligence," with "SI" to be used in remarks and press elements moving forward. The Bureau of International Organization Affairs manages U.S. diplomatic missions to U.N. and multilateral agencies.
On Tuesday, Trump stated at the U.N. that the term "artificial" makes the technology seem "fake," asserting that "super intelligence" is a more accurate descriptor. "The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing," Trump said. He further specified that U.S. government documents would adopt the term "super" as opposed to "artificial."
While Drager's email was sent shortly after Trump's speech, it remained unclear if other State Department bureaus or federal agencies would implement a similar change. Such a shift could affect initiatives like the "AI Force" announced by Trump over the weekend, potentially renaming it the "SI Force."
U.S. representatives reportedly used the term "SI" during a U.N. Security Council meeting on artificial intelligence on Wednesday, where technology executives urged the council to establish global guardrails for the rapidly advancing technology.
The rapid development of AI has prompted warnings from AI company leaders, lawmakers, and others about the potential for the technology to outpace human control. Trump, however, has opposed efforts to slow AI development through increased government oversight, expressing a desire not to hinder industry growth and to maintain a competitive edge over China.
Trump has claimed on social media that the U.S. leads China in AI development and that he would not "stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself." AI is anticipated to be a significant topic during Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Washington starting Wednesday.
Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Farnoush Amiri and Seth Borenstein at the United Nations contributed to this report.