US President Donald Trump has said the United States will replace the term “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence” in its official documents, arguing that the word “artificial” makes the technology sound fake.
Trump made the remark on Tuesday during his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he also rejected calls for tighter restrictions on the development of AI.
He said the new term, which he shortened to “SI”, better reflected the capabilities and potential of the technology.
“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake. It makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing, but we have to be careful,” Trump said.
“From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world’s will be changed to use the much more accurate term, super, as opposed to artificial.
“In other words, welcome to the new world of super intelligence — SI. Let’s see if that goes. It sounds much better.”
Trump said major technological advances inevitably presented challenges but argued that the United States should not restrict the development of the technology.
He also dismissed warnings about the potential dangers of AI, referring to concerns that the technology could cause catastrophic harm or that robots could pose a threat to humans.
“These are the same people that are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster,” he said.
Trump compared current concerns about AI with previous warnings over climate change, recalling his earlier description of climate change as a “hoax and greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”.
He further linked leadership in the technology to global influence, saying countries that lead in “super intelligence” would have a significant advantage.
“Whoever wins SI, whoever wins super intelligence, wins,” Trump said.
“That’s the group that wins. And we’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
Trump said his administration would not “stifle” the development of the technology, which he described as potentially more transformative than the Industrial Revolution or the internet.
“We will only encourage super intelligence. We’re going to encourage it, not rein it in,” he said.
“The United States leads the world in super intelligence and will continue to do so safely and responsibly.”
While rejecting broader efforts to restrict the technology, Trump said the US government would monitor its development and that the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies could intervene where necessary.
