Trump’s ‘Super Intelligence’ Rebrand: Who’s on Board?

SITUATION ASSESSMENT: The White House has ordered that the word “AI” be replaced. The new government term is “Super Intelligence,” or “SI” for short. MIT Tech Review reports that one month after the executive order, federal agencies are adopting it unevenly. The order also works as a political loyalty test for anyone who talks about the technology.

That’s a big deal for an industry already caught up in Washington politics.

🎯 What Happened

The administration’s stated reason is simple. It says today’s AI systems “amplify human ingenuity” rather than merely “imitate” intelligence, and it wants government language to match.

This follows a familiar pattern. According to MIT Tech Review, the White House has already renamed:

1. Bodies of water to project US dominance (the Gulf of America, Lake America)
2. Institutions to signal new priorities (the Department of War)
3. Landmarks to leave a personal mark (the ongoing fight over the Kennedy Center)

This one is different. Most Americans rarely think about what to call a lake. AI is another story. Two-thirds of Americans say they use it several times a week, and it sits at the center of the national conversation. MIT Tech Review calls it possibly “the boldest rebrand yet.”

📋 Field Report: Government Adoption

The rollout so far is a mixed picture.

Falling in line:

1. ICE. A new Immigration and Customs Enforcement solicitation asks companies to build “SI-powered” surveillance for detention facilities.
2. Government websites. Most have quietly swapped in the new term.
3. NIH. The National Institutes of Health now shows a banner warning visitors they may see both terms during the transition.

Missing the memo:

1. The Pentagon. A day after the order, it launched Project Meridian, an ambitious effort to study the future of warfare, and used the old terminology.
2. The FTC. A Federal Trade Commission press release last week wrote “superintelligence” as one lowercase word, not the capitalized two-word form the president ordered.
3. HHS. Recent Health and Human Services press releases show no sign of the new language at all.

“AI” won’t disappear from government anytime soon either. Dozens of offices and programs carry the name, like the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. The order also exempts previously issued regulations and documents.

⚠️ Why This Matters

What stands out here is the enforcement precedent. When the Associated Press didn’t adopt “Gulf of America,” the administration barred it from some White House press events.

If this rebrand follows the same path, the effect reaches far beyond federal websites.

Using “SI” signals allegiance. Sticking with “AI” could make you a target.

For the AI industry, that creates a real dilemma:

1. Federal contractors will feel pressure to use “SI” in proposals, since solicitations like ICE’s already do.
2. AI labs and startups have to decide whether their public messaging matches the government’s vocabulary or the industry’s.
3. Media and researchers risk being sorted by politics based on a single word.

There’s also a technical problem. In research circles, “superintelligence” has meant something specific for years: a hypothetical system that far exceeds human ability across the board. Putting that label on today’s chatbots and surveillance tools blurs a line that safety researchers and policymakers depend on. Once every government product is “Super Intelligence,” talking clearly about actual frontier risks gets harder.

🔭 Tactical Outlook

Here’s what to watch in the coming months:

1. Procurement language. Expect more federal RFPs to require “SI” terminology. If you sell to government, plan your documents for it.
2. Corporate positioning. Watch which big AI companies adopt the term in public statements. That will be the clearest loyalty signal.
3. Agency compliance. The holdouts, including the Pentagon, FTC, and HHS, will either fall in line or show how far the order really reaches.
4. Press access. Any retaliation against outlets that keep saying “AI” would confirm this is a loyalty test, not a style guide.

One month in, the rebrand is spreading but far from complete. How the private sector responds will decide whether “Super Intelligence” stays a government label or becomes the price of access in Washington. MIT Tech Review has the full breakdown of who’s adopted the term so far.