Trump Rebrands Artificial Intelligence as Super Intelligence via Executive Order

Executive Order Mandates Federal Transition to Super Intelligence Terminology

The administrative shift aims to reflect the continuously advancing technological frontier. According to the official White House announcement, the term “super intelligence” conveys the true capabilities of technologies unlocking human creativity, moving past the implication of merely imitating or automating human intelligence.

The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology has been directed to propose a formal federal definition of “Super Intelligence” and “SI” that captures the state of the technology, while identifying any further executive actions required for implementation.

Historical Context and Academic Debates Surrounding Superintelligence

While the administrative mandate introduces the terminology to official U.S. government correspondence, the concept of superintelligence is already established in technical and philosophical literature. Philosopher Nick Bostrom popularized the term in his 2014 bestseller Superintelligence, defining it as any intellect that greatly exceeds human cognitive performance across virtually all domains of interest.

This definition places superintelligence beyond artificial general intelligence (AGI), which OpenAI defines as highly autonomous systems capable of outperforming humans at most economically valuable work. Disagreements persist among researchers regarding the coherence of these concepts. In the 2025 paper “AI as Normal Technology,” authors Sayash Kapoor and Arvind Narayanan argued that there is no useful definition of intelligence wherein automated systems are inherently more intelligent than humans aided by those same systems.

Conversely, supporters of the terminology update note that advanced systems are exceeding human capabilities in specific technical domains by increasing margins. Caleb Withers, a research associate for the Technology and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, noted that the shift aligns with technology exceeding human performance in a growing range of tasks, carrying distinct national security implications. As an example of expanding technical capability, OpenAI announced a solution to the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize problem in early September.

Federal Frameworks, Infrastructure, and Global Competition

The executive order builds on a series of federal actions aimed at securing American leadership in advanced computing. Upon returning to office, President Trump dismantled prior administration policies, rolling out more than $5 billion for the Genesis Mission to harness advanced computing for breakthroughs in science, medicine, energy, and manufacturing.

In July 2025, the White House released America’s AI Action Plan, outlining over 90 federal actions focused on accelerating innovation, building domestic infrastructure, and extending international leadership. This was followed in March 2026 by the National Super Intelligence Policy Framework, which introduced legislative recommendations to guide the technological transition.

The strategic focus reflects heightened global competition, particularly regarding the relationship between the United States and China. President Trump emphasized the stakes during the United Nations General Assembly, stating that whoever wins super intelligence wins the global technology race. Nick Bostrom warned that intense competition heightens the risk of systems getting out of control if rivals view second place as a total loss.