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The U.S. executive branch has adopted “Super Intelligence” (SI) as its preferred label in specified official communications, but the new name does not, by itself, mean that existing AI systems have crossed a technical threshold into superintelligence. Executive Order 14434 initially defines SI by reference to the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence. The change is about federal wording for now—not a universal scientific reclassification.
What changed—and what did not?
Executive Order 14434, “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” dated September 29, 2026, directs executive departments and agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in covered communications, to the maximum extent permitted by law. President Donald J. Trump wrote in the order’s purpose section: “Accordingly, the term ‘Super Intelligence’ more appropriately captures the promise, potential, and rapidly advancing capabilities of these technologies.” Read the executive order.
That rationale is aspirational language. The operative definition is narrower: for implementation of the order, “Super Intelligence” and “SI” mean technologies and systems encompassed by the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence in 15 U.S.C. § 9401(3), unless a later definition supersedes it as the order describes. The order therefore changes the preferred label in its covered setting, but does not establish that systems previously called AI now meet a separate capability standard.
Where the new wording applies
The directive covers executive-branch official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents, and other non-statutory documents, subject to the order’s legal qualification. It does not direct researchers, companies, news organizations, state or local governments, or the public to adopt SI as a general term.
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What does not have to be rewritten
The order says agencies need not alter previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants, or other historical documents. The new terminology is not a command to retroactively replace every appearance of “AI” in federal records.
Is “super intelligence” a new technical category?
Not under the order’s current implementation definition. It points back to the existing statutory definition of AI, rather than specifying a new performance test or capability threshold that a system must pass to qualify as SI. The order’s use of “Super Intelligence” should therefore be read as an administrative naming choice in covered communications, not as independent evidence that a technical transition has occurred.
The order does call for a next step: the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology is directed to submit proposed legislative language within 60 days. That proposal is to assess whether a new definition should modify or supersede the existing statutory one and identify related amendments or further executive action. A requested proposal is not itself an enacted definition; the order does not establish that the proposal has been delivered or adopted.
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Why AI terminology depends on context
“Artificial intelligence” is not defined identically in every institutional setting. NASA says there is no single, simple definition of AI and provides examples and an adopted federal definition in its AI explainer. ISO/IEC 22989:2022 is an international standard that establishes AI terminology and describes concepts to support communication across organizations; see ISO’s standard information page. NIST’s AI glossary entry displays definitions associated with different source documents, so the originating document matters when interpreting a particular definition.
These sources serve different purposes. A federal statute supplies the definition referenced by this executive order; a terminology standard supports consistent communication; institutional explainers and glossaries describe usage in their own settings. The label alone does not tell you which definition is being applied. For the new executive-branch usage, the controlling point is the order’s reference to 15 U.S.C. § 9401(3), subject to any later superseding action.
Quick Recap
What readers should take from the wording
- In covered U.S. executive-branch communications: the order prefers “Super Intelligence” or “SI” where law permits.
- For the order’s initial scope: SI refers to technologies and systems encompassed by the existing statutory AI definition.
- Outside that setting: the order does not make SI a universal replacement for AI in science, industry, journalism, or ordinary conversation.
- As a technical claim: the renaming alone does not demonstrate that AI systems have reached a new level of intelligence.
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