The United States is urging international partners to replace the term “artificial intelligence” (AI) with “super intelligence” (SI) in global policy discussions, taking President Donald Trump’s technology rebranding campaign beyond US government agencies and into international economic forums.
US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne told Reuters on Thursday that Washington was negotiating with other shareholders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to include the new terminology in a statement being prepared by the fund’s steering committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
The push comes after Trump signed an executive order on September 29 directing US executive-branch departments and agencies to use “super intelligence” and “SI” in official communications and policy documents instead of “artificial intelligence” and “AI”. The order also directed officials to propose a federal definition of the new term.
Washington now wants the terminology adopted more widely, with the US holding the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 major economies.
- IMF Statement Becomes the Next Test
The terminology change has become a point of negotiation ahead of the IMFC’s statement at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that US officials had suggested they would insist on the new wording, raising concerns among some committee members. Browne declined to say whether Washington would withhold its approval if the proposed language was rejected.
The IMFC generally works towards consensus. If members cannot agree on a collective statement, its chair, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, could instead issue a chair’s statement summarising members’ views. Another option under discussion is to avoid both terms and refer more broadly to “new technology”, Reuters reported.
The committee was scheduled to release any agreed statement on Saturday, October 17, following a news conference involving Al-Jadaan and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
- Why the Terminology Matters
Browne said the US viewed the technology as a driver of domestic and global economic growth, arguing that the new term better captures its potential to raise productivity. She also said other countries looked to Washington to help set technology standards and guide future development.
However, the terminology carries a technical distinction. “Artificial intelligence” is the established umbrella term for technologies that perform tasks such as generating content, analysing information and making predictions. “Superintelligence” is commonly used to describe a hypothetical level of intelligence that surpasses human capabilities. The terms are not generally interchangeable in technical research.
That distinction matters for policymakers, businesses and researchers. International statements help shape the language used in economic coordination, but changing terminology does not itself change how systems are developed, evaluated or regulated.
For technology companies and investors, the immediate question is whether the US initiative gains acceptance in multilateral forums or remains primarily a feature of the Trump administration’s domestic policy. The outcome of the IMF discussions will offer an early indication of how far Washington’s preferred terminology can travel internationally.
Editing by Ananya
