President Donald Trump used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22 to say that U.S. government documents would use “Super Intelligence,” or “SI,” instead of artificial intelligence. The comment came as he rejected what he called a global scheme to control the technology.
In the White House release of the speech, Trump said the United States would reject international control of AI and referred to the field as “Super Intelligence.” A contemporaneous transcript records him saying that the word “artificial” made intelligence sound fake and that U.S. documents, and “hopefully the world’s,” would use “super” instead.
A statement, not yet a documented directive
The speech did not identify an executive order, agency memorandum or other implementation document. Associated Press reported that it was not clear whether an official order had been issued. Trump also qualified the declaration in his own remarks: “Let’s see if I have any power. Maybe I do and maybe I don’t.”
That distinction matters because the speech contains both rhetoric and a claim about government practice. As of the reporting reviewed here, the public record supports that Trump said he wanted the terminology changed; it does not establish that federal agencies had adopted it.
The label was part of a wider passage in which Trump argued against international AI oversight. The White House release reflects that policy position, while the status of any formal terminology change remains the practical question.
