WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (Infinite Headlines) — The federal executive branch is changing how it refers to artificial intelligence, not adopting a new technical standard for the technology. President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 14434 directs agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official communications, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Signed on September 29, 2026, the order is titled “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence.” For now, its new label covers the same technologies as the existing federal legal definition of artificial intelligence. That is different from the much more demanding meaning of superintelligence used by philosopher Nick Bostrom: an intellect that greatly exceeds human cognitive performance across virtually all areas of interest.
What changes inside government?
Under the executive order, the terminology change applies to official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other executive-branch documents that are not statutes. Statutes are laws enacted by Congress.
The administration says the new wording is intended to reflect the technology’s advancing capabilities and promise. The order’s descriptions of the capabilities of frontier systems — systems at the leading edge of the field — are the administration’s claims.
The directive concerns government language. It does not require changes to previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants or other historical documents. Agencies therefore do not have to rewrite those earlier records to replace “AI” with “SI.”
Does the order create a new legal category?
Not yet. For purposes of the order, and except where the law provides otherwise, “Super Intelligence” and “SI” encompass the technologies and systems already covered by the definition of artificial intelligence in 15 U.S.C. § 9401(3).
That incorporated definition remains in place unless a later lawful presidential action or an act of Congress replaces it. The immediate change is the name used by executive agencies, rather than the scope of the legal category.
The order also sets a process for considering a different federal definition. Within 60 days of September 29, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology must submit proposed legislative language to the president, after consulting agency heads as the assistant considers appropriate.
That proposal must assess whether a new definition should modify, expand or replace the existing statutory AI definition. It must also address related changes that might be needed elsewhere in federal law and recommend any further presidential or executive action. The order does not itself adopt that future definition.
What does superintelligence mean beyond this policy?
In his book “Superintelligence,” Bostrom describes an intellect that greatly exceeds human cognitive performance in virtually all domains of interest. His concept sets a much higher bar than simply belonging to the existing statutory category of artificial intelligence.
A related idea is an “intelligence explosion.” The Machine Intelligence Research Institute describes this as a possible scenario in which a machine becomes better than humans at designing AI, then improves its own intelligence through a feedback loop. In that scenario, improvements could help the machine make further improvements.
The institute presents this as a possibility, not as an observed consequence of the executive order.
What limits apply to implementation?
The order requires implementation to remain consistent with applicable law and available appropriations — money authorized for government spending. It creates no enforceable right or benefit, meaning it does not give someone a new right they can enforce through a legal claim.
It also preserves agencies’ existing legal authorities and the specified functions of the director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of Science and Technology Policy is responsible for the order’s publication costs.
