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President Donald Trump signed an order Tuesday requiring federal agencies to call AI “Super Intelligence.” The order defines the new term as the same technologies covered by the existing statutory definition of AI. Trump also signed a voluntary safety accord with AI executives. A Quinnipiac poll conducted Sept. 24-27, before Tuesday’s actions, found that 71% of registered voters were more likely to back a candidate favoring stricter AI guardrails.
What Changed
- Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 29 requiring federal agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "artificial intelligence" and "AI" in non-statutory documents.
- The order defines the new term as the same technologies covered by the existing statutory AI definition in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3), with no separate capability threshold.
- Trump and six AI executives signed a voluntary accord built on internal controls, external auditors and an independent review committee; Trump called it "morally binding."
- The president's science adviser has 60 days to propose legislative language on whether the new definition should change the legal scope of the AI definition.
AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.
Agency terminology
For implementation, “Super Intelligence,” or “SI,” covers exactly the technologies and systems encompassed by the statutory definition of AI in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). That definition governs until superseded by subsequent presidential action consistent with applicable law or an act of Congress. The order establishes no separate capability threshold for “Super Intelligence.”
The executive order, signed Sept. 29, covers non-statutory documents, including official correspondence, websites and reports. Agencies must substitute “Super Intelligence” and “SI” for the existing terms “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
Its policy statement says the executive branch “will not acknowledge the usage of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘AI’ in any applicable setting.”
Previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants and other historical documents do not have to be altered.
Voluntary safety accord
Trump also signed the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence” after Tuesday’s White House lunch.
Subtitled “Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities,” the accord makes no declaration about renaming AI. The new term appears only in its title.
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The commitments include internal controls, internal review teams, independent external auditors and a designated independent committee to oversee reports from internal teams and external auditors. The internal controls are to “monitor the capabilities and alignment of its models during training and deployment around areas like cybersecurity.” Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg said companies’ boards of directors would independently review the auditors’ reports. Signers agree to “meet regularly” to establish safety standards. The document says “over time, it may make sense to codify these steps into laws or regulations.”
The document is not an official order, and it is unclear who would enforce it.
Asked whether it was binding, Trump said, “I think it’s morally binding.” House Speaker Mike Johnson called the commitments “voluntary.” SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk described the approach as “just generally grading each other’s homework.”
The industry signers were Google’s Sundar Pichai, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Zuckerberg, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
Voter concerns
In the Quinnipiac University national poll, released Sept. 29, 16% of registered voters said they were more likely to support a candidate favoring expanded AI development, against the 71% who favored a candidate backing stricter AI guardrails.
Among the same respondents, 79% put safety ahead of staying at the forefront of innovation, and 73% would oppose an AI data center in their community. Trump’s handling of AI drew approval from 25%, with 58% disapproving.
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The survey covered 1,032 registered voters nationwide from Sept. 24 through Sept. 27. Its margin of error was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
Definition and safeguards
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the administration’s response.
“The companies building the most powerful AI systems are warning us that the technology is advancing faster than our safeguards. The president’s response? To rename it and tell the companies developing it to regulate themselves,” Warner said in a statement. “But changing what we call artificial intelligence does nothing to address the very real risks that come with increasingly powerful AI systems.”
Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, said the terminology “muddies the waters between tool AI and super intelligence.”
“We don’t have super intelligence yet. We may be on the cusp of general intelligence,” he said.
Under the signed order, the president’s science adviser must submit proposed legislative language within 60 days of Sept. 29, assessing whether the proposed definition should change the legal scope of the existing AI definition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Trump's Super Intelligence executive order require?
Federal agencies must use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" instead of "artificial intelligence" and "AI" in official correspondence, websites, reports and other non-statutory documents, to the maximum extent permitted by law. Previously issued regulations, contracts, grants and historical documents do not have to be altered.
Does the order change what counts as AI under federal law?
No. The order defines "Super Intelligence" as the same technologies covered by the existing statutory definition of AI in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). The president's science adviser has 60 days to propose legislative language on whether a new definition should change that scope.
What is the White House Accord on Super Intelligence?
A voluntary accord signed Sept. 29 by Trump and executives from Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Nvidia. It commits signers to internal controls, internal review teams, independent external auditors and an independent committee overseeing reports. It is not an official order, and it is unclear who would enforce it.
What did the Quinnipiac poll find about AI?
In a poll of 1,032 registered voters conducted Sept. 24-27, 71% said they were more likely to back a candidate favoring stricter AI guardrails, against 16% for expanded AI development. 79% put safety ahead of innovation, and Trump's handling of AI drew 25% approval.
Who criticized the rename?
Sen. Mark Warner said changing what the technology is called does nothing to address its risks. Brendan Steinhauser of the Alliance for Secure AI said the term muddies the waters between tool AI and super intelligence.
AI-generated summary, reviewed by an editor. More on our AI guidelines.
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Marcus Schuler
Editor-in-Chief and founder of Implicator.ai. Former ARD correspondent and senior broadcast journalist with 10+ years covering tech. Writes daily briefings on policy and market developments. Based in San Francisco. E-mail: editor@implicator.ai
