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Trump Wants to Rename AI 'Super Intelligence'—Xi Reportedly Approves
Intra-Party Split Detected
Democrats broadly criticize Trump's laissez-faire AI approach and rebranding push, but they haven't united around a single alternative agenda—ranging from Sanders' call for a moratorium and ban on superintelligence to AOC's push for safety standards and oversight without a full pause, reflecting differing priorities within the party.
Left says
- •The rebranding push distracts from substantive AI safety debates, as researchers and industry insiders increasingly warn about existential risks like human extinction or loss of control over advanced systems
- •Renaming 'artificial intelligence' to 'super intelligence' muddies an already technical term with a distinct meaning used by AI safety researchers like Nick Bostrom, potentially confusing public understanding of real risks
- •The administration's laissez-faire approach to AI regulation ignores polling showing majorities of Americans, including many Republicans, are concerned about AI's environmental impact and existential risks
- •Democrats like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are calling for actual safety standards, oversight, and even moratoriums on superintelligence development rather than cosmetic language changes
Right says
- •Trump is emphasizing that AI represents a transformative technology comparable to the Industrial Revolution, and the word 'artificial' undersells its real capabilities and importance
- •Finding common ground with China's Xi on terminology signals productive diplomatic engagement on a critical technology issue between the two global superpowers
- •The administration favors an approach that avoids stifling American AI innovation and growth through excessive regulation, trusting existing criminal and civil law plus strong presidential leadership to handle bad actors
- •Creating an 'AI Force' modeled on Space Force demonstrates a serious commitment to maintaining U.S. leadership and security in AI development
Common Take
High Consensus- Both sides agree AI is a transformative technology with major implications for the country's future
- Public polling cited shows bipartisan concern about AI's risks, including data center environmental impact and existential threats
- Industry leaders across the political spectrum, including Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman, have raised concerns about AI's rapid development
- There is shared recognition that the term 'superintelligence' already carries specific technical meaning within the AI research community
The Arguments
Left argues
Renaming AI to 'super intelligence' muddies a term that AI safety researchers like Nick Bostrom have used for over a decade to describe systems that vastly exceed human cognitive ability, risking public confusion about genuinely distinct concepts and real existential risk debates.
Right counters
Trump's point is that 'artificial' undersells the technology's real capability and impact, and a name change doesn't prevent researchers or policymakers from continuing to use precise technical terms in their own work.
Right argues
Trump's laissez-faire approach trusts that existing criminal and civil law, combined with strong presidential oversight, can handle bad actors without strangling American innovation in a technology he compares to the Industrial Revolution.
Left counters
Existing criminal and civil frameworks weren't designed for systems that industry insiders themselves warn could cause human extinction or irreversible loss of control, and multiple polls show majorities of Americans, including nearly half of Republicans, are already uneasy with this hands-off approach.
Right argues
Finding common ground with Xi Jinping on AI terminology, however small, represents productive diplomatic engagement between two superpowers on a technology central to global competition and security.
Left counters
Xi never actually used the term 'super intelligence' himself and instead emphasized keeping AI 'under human control'—suggesting Trump may be overstating a diplomatic win on what is ultimately a cosmetic labeling issue rather than substantive policy alignment.
Left argues
Prominent AI leaders including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and even Elon Musk have called for slowing AI development, and a former Anthropic researcher estimated a greater than 10% chance AI could 'kill all humans'—concerns a naming change does nothing to address.
Right counters
Many of these same industry warnings could reflect competitive positioning or attempts to shape regulation in ways that favor incumbents, while Trump's approach keeps decision-making with elected leadership rather than ceding it to unelected tech executives predicting doom.
Right argues
Creating an 'AI Force' modeled on the successful Space Force precedent signals a serious, institutionalized U.S. commitment to maintaining technological and security leadership over rivals like China.
Left counters
Trump offered no details on the AI Force's budget, structure, or actual function, making it look more like a symbolic gesture than a substantive security initiative, especially when paired with a president simultaneously dismissing AI extinction risks as a 'hoax.'
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If Democrats like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are genuinely alarmed about existential AI risk, why have they not coalesced around a single unified policy agenda instead of offering separate, sometimes conflicting proposals ranging from moratoriums to oversight boards?”
Left asks Right
“If the administration insists AI is too transformative and important to be 'stifled' by regulation, why is the primary policy response so far a name change and an undefined 'AI Force' rather than a concrete plan to address the specific risks industry leaders themselves are raising?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Figures like Bernie Sanders and AOC calling for outright moratoriums or bans on superintelligence development represent a more extreme regulatory stance; this likely represents about 15-20% of the left, with most Democrats favoring safety standards without full development bans.
Right Fringe
Trump's specific rebranding push and dismissal of AI risk as a 'hoax' represents a fringe position even within his own coalition; tech-adjacent Republicans and figures like some in the AI industry (though not strictly right-wing) who worry about safety may not fully align with this, representing perhaps 20-25% of the right holding more cautious views.
Noise Assessment
High noise ratio—the renaming controversy itself is largely performative political theater with limited substantive policy impact, while the underlying AI safety debate (existential risk, regulation, industry warnings) represents genuine public concern reflected in multiple independent polls this month.
Sources (6)
<p><a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">President Trump</a> is pushing world leaders and <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/22/trump-ai-super-intelligence-rebrand" target="_blank">U.S. agencies</a> to rename <a href="https://www.axios.com/technology/automation-and-ai" target="_blank">AI </a>"super intelligence."</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> "Superintelligence" already has a distinct meaning in AI — and is <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/03/bernie-sanders-superintelligence-ban-ai-pause" target="_blank">fueling debates</a> over whether the most advanced systems should be slowed or stopped.</p><hr /><p><strong>The big picture: </strong><a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/what-is-superintelligence-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ais-endgame/" target="_blank">Superintelligence</a> — broadly, AI that surpasses human cognition — has become both an industry ambition and the focus of efforts <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/09/ai-report-slow-race-superintelligence" target="_blank">to slow</a> its development or <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/03/bernie-sanders-superintelligence-ban-ai-pause" target="_blank">ban it altogether</a>.</p><p><strong>Yes, but:</strong> Trump doesn't seem to be talking about that kind of superintelligent AI.</p><ul><li>"The use of the word 'artificial' ... makes it sound fake," he said before the UN General Assembly gathering on Tuesday, adding, "it is not fake. It's actually amazing." </li><li>He announced that all "United States documents, and hopefully the world's, will be changed to use the much more accurate term 'super' as opposed to artificial."</li><li>Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/117331749278785253" target="_blank">posted</a> Friday that China's Xi Jinping, "seemed to like" the idea.</li><li>The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' question about whether it had considered the term's existing meaning when Trump proposed the new name.</li></ul><h2>Defining superintelligence</h2><p><strong>Situational awareness: </strong>Philosopher Nick <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/doomsday-invention-artificial-intelligence-nick-bostrom" target="_blank">Bostrom</a> is <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2026/09/super-intelligence-presidents-new-term-ai-explained/416153/" target="_blank">credited</a> with popularizing the term. </p><ul><li>He <a href="https://medium.com/science-uncovered/what-is-superintelligence-539477ebe333" target="_blank">wrote</a> in his influential 2014 book, "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies," that it could be "tentatively" defined as "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest."</li></ul><p><strong>Meta CEO <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/23/meta-muse-ai-hardware-handheld-glasses" target="_blank">Mark Zuckerberg</a> </strong>has also frequently used "superintelligence," including in the name of Meta's AI division.</p><h2>The industry view</h2><p><strong>OpenAI noted </strong>in a 2023 <a href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-superalignment/#citation-bottom-A" target="_blank">memo</a> that superintelligence "will be the most impactful technology humanity has ever invented." </p><ul><li>But it "could lead to the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction." </li></ul><p><strong>What they're saying:</strong> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-ai-warning-interview" target="_blank">Jacob Coxon</a>, the former Anthropic researcher whose warnings about AI's capabilities set off <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-insiders-warn-ai-could-kill-all-humans" target="_blank">a fast-moving panic</a> this month, wrote that OpenAI and Anthropic were "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives."</p><ul><li>A <a href="https://superintelligence-statement.org/" target="_blank">petition</a> for a moratorium on superintelligence development from the Future of Life Institute has been signed by prominent tech-world figures like <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-ai-human-extinction-pdoom-safety-risks" target="_blank">Geoffrey Hinton</a>, the Nobel-winning "godfather of AI," and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.</li><li>A proposal by the AI Futures Project, a nonprofit AI research foundation, that <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/09/ai-report-slow-race-superintelligence" target="_blank">Axios first reported on</a> earlier this year called for delaying the development of superintelligence to 2040.</li></ul><h2>Where AI stands now</h2><p>OpenAI president Greg Brockman recently predicted that the company's GPT-6 Astra model could eventually be seen as <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/03/openai-astra-gpt-6-agi-brockman" target="_blank">the arrival of artificial general intelligence</a>, or <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/16/google-deepmind-institute-agi" target="_blank">AGI</a>.</p><ul><li>Like superintelligence, a simple <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-09-04/what-is-agi-openai-anthropic-race-for-artificial-general-intelligence" target="_blank">definition</a> of <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/11/16/1083498/google-deepmind-what-is-artificial-general-intelligence-agi/" target="_blank">AGI </a>isn't entirely clear. </li><li>But Google's DeepMind researchers said in a <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.12683" target="_blank">report</a> earlier this year that "[g]iven that current AI models are already superhuman in many respects (but not yet general enough), the first AGI will already be superhuman on many tasks."</li></ul><p><strong>What we're watching:</strong> The boundaries of AGI and superintelligence remain unsettled. But Trump's proposed "SI" label is entering a field where "superintelligence" already means something else.</p><p><strong>Go deeper: </strong><a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/23/ai-leaders-un-security-council-global-safeguards" target="_blank">"We have a choice": AI leaders sound alarm at UN</a></p>
<p>President Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/117298821562014906" target="_blank">announced</a> Saturday he is creating an "AI Force" modeled on the Space Force and will soon name a new AI czar, doubling down on his push to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/14/trump-ai-safety-regulations-congress" target="_blank">accelerate</a> artificial intelligence development with limited regulation.</p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>The White House isn't <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/14/trump-ai-safety-anthropic-dario-amodei" target="_blank">backing down</a> from its laissez-faire approach to AI, even as the<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/13/ai-labs-regulation-safety" target="_blank"> industry's biggest leaders</a> call for stronger safety rules and as public concern about AI intensifies.</p><hr /><p><strong>The latest: </strong>Trump offered few details on what this AI Force would actually do, what budget it would have or where it would be placed in the federal government.</p><ul><li>The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</li><li>His Truth Social post said the government would "not in any way hinder or stifle" AI's growth but would look for "BAD" behavior using "our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System."</li><li>He compared the proposed AI Force to Space Force, a military branch established by Congress in his first term.</li></ul><p><strong>Catch up quick: </strong>Trump has <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/15/trump-ai-doom-safety-regulation-hoax" target="_blank">hardened</a> his anti-regulation position during an extraordinary month of warnings from inside the AI industry.</p><ul><li>Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Demis Hassabis — the Nobel laureate who co-founded and chairs Google DeepMind — have all called for slowing AI development as their systems become more powerful.</li><li>Anthropic alignment researcher Evan Hubinger recently said he personally believes there is a greater than 10% chance AI could "kill all humans" within the next decade.</li><li>Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/14/trump-ai-safety-anthropic-dario-amodei" target="_blank">responded</a> by calling technologists' fears that AI could destroy humanity a "hoax" and saying the only guardrail the technology needs is a "strong and smart" president.</li></ul><p><strong>The intrigue: </strong>The AI czar position would revive a role that the White House <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/26/trump-white-house-david-sacks-ai-czar-policy-influence" target="_blank">didn't plan</a> to fill six months ago.</p><ul><li>David Sacks left the formal AI and crypto czar job in March, though he remains influential as co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.</li></ul><p><strong>By the numbers: </strong>Public sentiment has not matched Trump's enthusiasm.</p><ul><li>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/us/politics/ai-polls-midterms.html" target="_blank">New York Times-Siena poll</a> of 1,503 likely voters released this week found 61% opposed building data centers to power AI, including 47% of Republicans and 75% of Democrats.</li><li>An <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/americans-are-increasingly-concerned-about-the-environmental-consequences-of-ai/" target="_blank">AP-NORC-University of Chicago poll</a> also released this week found 53% were highly concerned about AI's environmental impact.</li><li>A <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/16/poll-ai-technology-risks-humanity-trump-voters-01078087" target="_blank">POLITICO-Public First poll</a> released this week found 63% of U.S. adults see at least a moderate risk that advanced AI could eventually destroy humanity.</li></ul><p><strong>The other side:</strong> Democrats have <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/16/warren-ai-pause?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">increasingly</a> called for intervention, but they <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/23/2028-democrats-ai-bernie-sanders?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">haven't united</a> around a single AI agenda.</p><ul><li>Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wants to pause advanced AI development and permanently ban so-called superintelligence — AI more capable than humans and able to operate beyond human control.</li><li>In a <a href="https://x.com/charlesmonaco/status/2101056243863277861?s=20" target="_blank">campaign email</a> Friday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for strict safety standards and public oversight and warned Congress not to bail out Big Tech if the "AI bubble" pops.</li></ul><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been updated with new detail throughout. </em></p><img src="https://images.axios.com/ZYdkzgLY6-Due9WL2R6FK0teRmo=/2026/09/19/1789843796348.jpeg" /> <div>Screenshot: President Trump/Truth Social</div>
‘Tremendous things will be happening’
Trump has, in recent weeks, floated the rebrand, saying it is a more accurate description of the technology.
Trump might have a tougher time than he has seen with his other rebranding efforts like "Gulf of America" and "Lake America."
President Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to like referring to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence” days after Trump announced the U.S. would be using the new name in official documents and communications. Trump made the observation in a Truth Social post in which he referred to his meeting with the…