Former President Donald Trump has indicated he is considering significant actions to discourage the use of the terms "artificial intelligence" and "AI," advocating instead for the term "super intelligence." Trump voiced his displeasure on his Truth Social platform, complaining that The Wall Street Journal had used the term AI instead of adopting his preferred nomenclature.
In a post dated October 27, 2026, Trump announced his intention to officially ban the term "artificial intelligence" from all relevant documents and "everything else." This move echoes previous instances where Trump sought to rename geographical locations and entities, such as Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico, and considered renaming New Mexico.
When reached for comment regarding potential penalties for using the term "AI" and the legal feasibility of such a ban, given First Amendment protections, the White House directed inquiries to "the truth." Earlier in October, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as "the Godfather of AI," told The Guardian that Trump's focus on "superintelligence" revealed a lack of understanding of AI. Hinton explained that "superintelligence" has a distinct meaning of being smarter than humans and cannot be imposed simply by renaming the concept.
Darrell West, an AI policy researcher at the Brookings Institution, also commented that "superintelligence" evokes images of "The Terminator" and suggested that changing the term would not foster greater public reassurance.