At the October 2026 IMF annual meetings in Bangkok, the US Treasury Department pushed international partners to adopt the term 'super intelligence' instead of 'artificial intelligence' in official statements, following a September executive order by President Donald Trump. While US Undersecretary Erin Browne framed the shift as reflecting a key driver of global growth, the push raised eyebrows among foreign officials and highlighted ideological splits between tech accelerationists and researchers warning of extinction risks.
Trump AI-to-SI rebranding directive
- ▪President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that those unwilling to adopt the term 'super intelligence' would be designated 'THE ENEMY!'.
- ▪President Donald Trump issued a September 2026 executive order directing United States government agencies to replace the term 'artificial intelligence' with 'super intelligence'.
- ▪Elon Musk pledged in October 2026 to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI following President Donald Trump's directive.
US Treasury IMF terminology push
- ▪United States Treasury Undersecretary Erin Browne stated that Washington views superintelligence development as a primary driving force behind American and global economic growth.
- ▪The United States holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies during the October 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
- ▪United States Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne stated during October 15, 2026 negotiations in Bangkok that adopting 'super intelligence' in International Monetary Fund statements is a priority for Washington.
Superintelligence utopia-dystopia debate
- ▪Artificial intelligence safety researchers including Eliezer Yudkowsky, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yoshua Bengio warned that creating uncontrolled superintelligence poses existential risk to human survival.
- ▪Techno-optimist investors including Marc Andreessen view superintelligence as a universal problem solver capable of driving extraordinary economic productivity and scientific progress.
International diplomatic resistance
- ▪If the United States withholds support over terminology, International Monetary and Financial Committee Chair Mohammed Al-Jadaan could issue a chair's statement or substitute 'new technology' in place of 'super intelligence' or 'artificial intelligence'.
- ▪United States officials suggested during International Monetary and Financial Committee drafting meetings that Washington would insist on using 'super intelligence', prompting concern among other committee members.
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