US Justice Department tells staff to call AI ‘super intelligence’, including in court filings

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday, October 6, directed its employees to use the words “super intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” when referring to the technology in most circumstances, including in court, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

The directive from acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter tells staff to use “super intelligence” and “SI” in place of AI “to the maximum extent permitted by law” in public communications, policy documents and other official records. “This directive shall extend to court filings when appropriate,” says the memo, which is titled “Super Intelligence,” according to people familiar with the matter cited by NBC News.

The memo implements Executive Order 14434, “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” which President Donald Trump signed on September 29. Under the order published by the White House, executive departments and agencies are to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory documents. The order does not require changes to previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants or other historical documents.

For now, the order defines the new terms as covering the same technologies encompassed by the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence in US law. It gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days to submit proposed legislative language for a federal definition of “Super Intelligence,” including an assessment of whether it should modify or supersede the current statutory definition. The White House says the new term better captures the rapidly advancing capabilities of frontier systems.

Reuters noted that public perception of artificial intelligence has soured in the wake of hacking incidents that have raised questions about safety. Trump has resisted new regulations for the technology, but has said the Justice Department would rein it in if necessary.