Trump Meets Tech Leaders, Pushes 'Super Intelligence' Term

US President Donald Trump met with leading technology executives at the White House on Tuesday for a summit he described as "an extraordinary gathering" focused on AI development. The meeting included heads of major AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Meta, and Google.

AI Self-Regulation Pact

Following a closed-door meeting, Trump announced that the executives had signed a "morally binding" document aimed at protecting against potential AI risks. The agreement places responsibility on the companies to ensure the safety of their own technology. According to the document, firms committed to implementing safeguards, quickly detecting and fixing issues, and working with "independent auditors" to verify their systems operate as intended and do not access technical systems in unintended ways. The accord was signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai (Google), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Greg Brockman (OpenAI), Elon Musk (SpaceX), and Jensen Huang (Nvidia).

Trump stated that he would establish a board to oversee AI safety, though details about its composition were not provided. This initiative comes as some tech leaders and experts have called for increased oversight and a potential slowdown in AI development due to its perceived risks. OpenAI recently announced it had scrapped the release of its latest model, GPT-6.1 Astra, over safety concerns.

Focus on Data Centers

The summit also addressed the rapid expansion of data centers, which are critical for AI infrastructure. This expansion has faced local opposition due to concerns over electricity usage and community impact. Trump expressed support for the development, stating that these companies would "make massive contributions to communities." He also indicated that communities opposing data centers might risk becoming "backwards and poor."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang referred to these facilities as "super intelligence factories" that are "reindustrialising the United States" and creating jobs.

Rebranding to 'Super Intelligence'

In a related development, Trump signed an executive order directing US government departments and agencies to adopt the terms "SI" and "Super Intelligence" in official communications, replacing "artificial intelligence." The order posits that these capabilities represent "a new era of Super Intelligence." Trump had previously suggested that the term "artificial" made the technology "sound fake." This linguistic shift has been echoed by some tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.