White House Orders Executive Branch Documents to Swap "AI" for "SI"
Technology that existing law defines as artificial intelligence must now be called "Super Intelligence" (SI) in official documents. That is not the same thing OpenAI meant when it used the word to describe future technology.
The White House has directed federal executive branch agencies to use the term “Super Intelligence” (SI) in place of “artificial intelligence” (AI) in official correspondence, websites, and reports. The directive appears in Executive Order 14434, issued on September 29. What changes is the name the administration uses for the technology.
What “SI” actually refers to
In the executive order, Super Intelligence means the technology that existing law defines as artificial intelligence. The scope of the technology follows the statutory definition already in use. That definition may be superseded by subsequent presidential action or by legislation from Congress. The order instructs the President’s science and technology adviser to submit a legislative proposal to the President within 60 days containing a new statutory definition of Super Intelligence. The proposal will also include an assessment of whether to amend, broaden, or replace the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence.
Implementation comes with limits. The change applies to executive branch documents to the extent permitted by law, and it does not require revising existing regulations, contracts, or documents that have already been written.
A different meaning from OpenAI’s “superintelligence”
In a 2023 document, OpenAI used superintelligence to describe a future AI far more capable than artificial general intelligence (AGI). OpenAI was pointing to a level of capability that has not yet arrived; this executive order points to the AI in use today.
Is this aimed at OpenAI?
Some have suggested that the choice of “Super Intelligence” is a jab at OpenAI and the AI industry. A post published on Bluesky on October 9 argued that the push to emphasize Super Intelligence amounts to a humiliation of OpenAI and the AI industry as a whole.
The post was also picked up on Hacker News, where it drew 83 points and 77 comments. The debate centers on the wording the White House chose and the intent behind it.
What to watch next is how the term is actually used in executive branch documents.