US diplomats told to say ‘super intelligence’ — not ‘artificial intelligence’ — after Trump’s call

The Associated Press reported from New York that the State Department has told diplomats in its international organizations bureau to say "super intelligence" rather than "artificial intelligence" in every communication. The instruction followed President Donald Trump's speech to the UN General Assembly that week, in which he said he was trying to rebrand the technology.

According to the AP, an email with the subject line "Change in Nomenclature AI to SI" went to employees on Tuesday from Michael Drager, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. It asked staff to change every reference in documents and positions and to use the abbreviation SI in remarks, positions and press materials going forward. The AP obtained the message on Wednesday. That bureau oversees American diplomatic missions to the UN and multilateral bodies worldwide, and it was not immediately clear whether other State Department bureaus had followed or would follow.

In his address, Trump said the word artificial makes the technology sound fake when it is, in his words, amazing, and that US government documents would use super intelligence from then on. The AP noted that such an order across agencies would probably also turn the "AI Force" he announced the previous weekend into an "SI Force." US representatives used the new term on Wednesday at a Security Council meeting on AI, where technology executives urged the council to rein in the technology.

The article adds context on his stance. Trump has turned down proposals to slow the AI race through added regulatory oversight, saying industry should not be hindered and that America must stay ahead of China. AI is expected to feature when Chinese leader Xi Jinping visits Washington.