# Trump's 'Super Intelligence' rebrand becomes a loyalty test

> President Trump ordered the government to replace 'AI' with 'Super Intelligence,' and now the term is dividing tech executives, media outlets and the national conversation.
- Title: Trump's 'Super Intelligence' rebrand becomes a loyalty test
- Summary: President Trump ordered the government to replace 'AI' with 'Super Intelligence,' and now the term is dividing tech executives, media outlets and the…
- Keywords: trump administration, artificial intelligence, executive order, rebranding, loyalty test, tech executives, government policy, political polarization, technology, science, Trump's, 'Super
- Source: MIT Technology Review — https://technologyreview.com/2026/11/02/1147932/heres-who-is-falling-in-line-for-trumps-super-intelligence-loyalty-test
- Read time: 3 min
- Topics: trump administration, artificial intelligence, executive order, rebranding, loyalty test, tech executives, government policy, political polarization, technology, science
## Trump orders AI renamed to Super Intelligence
At the end of September, President Trump signed an executive order directing government agencies to rebrand artificial intelligence as Super Intelligence. The term beat out Extreme Intelligence and Supreme Intelligence in a poll on X.
## The stated reason: AI amplifies, not imitates
The White House says today's AI systems amplify human ingenuity rather than merely imitate intelligence, and government terminology should reflect that distinction.
## Rebranding as political loyalty test
The rebrand follows Trump's pattern of renaming things to project dominance or leave his mark. Using the new term signals allegiance to the administration; not using it marks targets for attack.
## Trump barred AP over Gulf of America refusal
The Trump administration barred the Associated Press from some White House press events after the news outlet did not adopt the term Gulf of America.
## Why this rebrand matters more than others
Most Americans rarely think about lakes or bodies of water. But two-thirds of Americans report interacting with AI multiple times a week, making this rebrand bolder and more consequential.
## Government adoption is uneven
Super Intelligence now appears on government solicitations like Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests for SI-powered surveillance. But the Pentagon, Federal Trade Commission and Health and Human Services have been slow to adopt it.
## Even government employees slip up
A researcher at a national lab repeatedly used AI before sheepishly acknowledging the slip-up. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used AI in an interview on October three.
## Trump pressures media to adopt the term
On October twenty-seven, Trump criticized the Wall Street Journal for not using Super Intelligence, the name which virtually everyone else is using, or soon will be.

> the name which virtually everyone else is using, or soon will be
## Tech executives show mixed compliance
Six tech leaders signed the White House Accord on Super Intelligence: Sundar Pichai of Google, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Greg Brockman of OpenAI, Elon Musk of xAI, and Jensen Huang of…
## Only Musk and Zuckerberg use it consistently
In third-quarter earnings calls, only Zuckerberg and Musk used Super Intelligence consistently. Musk pledged to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI. Executives from Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet used AI instead.
## Rebrand costs time and taxpayer dollars
Government employees are writing guides on how departments should navigate the rebrand.Federal agency leaders must draft a new legislative definition of Super Intelligence to be run by the president by the end of this month.
## Loyalty test threatens national AI conversation
Americans are beginning to discuss AI's impact on jobs, warfare and mental health. If Super Intelligence becomes a loyalty test, these conversations will stop once people realize they are using different terms.
## AI ranks high in midterm election priorities
Americans say AI is more important to them in this election than environmental and climate policy.Democrats even rank it above abortion and gun policy.Turning terminology into a loyalty test will harm the national conversation.
## Key takeaway

Trump's executive order to rebrand artificial intelligence as Super Intelligence is becoming a political loyalty test, with uneven adoption across government and tech despite pressure to conform.