--- title: "Tech Leaders Kiss the Ring and Refuse to Call It “AI” After Trump Told Them Not to" description: "Tech leaders using the terms \"Super Intelligence\" and \"SI\" after Trump insisted that the term \"AI\" was outdated." date: "2026-10-30" modified: "2026-10-30" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/tech-leaders-kiss-ring-trump-call-ai-si" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" --- # Tech Leaders Kiss the Ring and Refuse to Call It “AI” After Trump Told Them Not to ![US President Donald Trump and US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) look on as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks to the press.]() *Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images* It turns out the only thing more sycophantic than AI chatbots are the people in charge of building them. After president Donald Trump [decreed]() that artificial intelligence should now be referred to as "Super Intelligence" (caps included), tech and AI CEOs — or should we say "SI" CEOs — have eagerly complied with this absurd rebranding attempt. An analysis by *CNBC* [found]() that Microsoft, SpaceX, Meta, Tesla, and IBM all used the term "Super Intelligence" or "SI" in official documents and communications this earnings season. One SpaceX filing referred to SI 85 times. Microsoft, in an annual report letter, even heralded the arrival of a "Super Intelligence era." "For Microsoft, the central question as we enter this Super Intelligence era is not just how big the opportunity becomes, but how we deliver the real-world outcomes that every country, community, and company demands and deserves," CEO Satya Nadella wrote in the letter. Trump's obsession with rebranding AI seemed to come out of nowhere. Last month, he launched a poll on his website Truth Social asking his supporters to choose a better name for AI. Days later, he [told the UN General Assembly]() that all US government documents will ditch the term AI in favor of SI, and made the decree official [with an executive order](). This week, he [escalated proceedings]() by saying he would be "officially BANNING" the term AI in government documents and "everything else." That tech leaders have embraced using SI encapsulates the [extraordinary toadying that they have continued to show Trump]() since he returned to the Oval Office, including those whom Trump once perceived as an enemy. Perhaps the most enthusiastic adopter of the new moniker is SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who remains closely tied to the administration. He has insisted on using the term SI in all his public appearances and posts (with occasional slip-ups), and [rebranded]() his AI company SpaceXAI as SpaceXSI. Recently, Musk even [admitted]() that he has "SI psychosis." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, meanwhile, called Super Intelligence a "more accurate" term than artificial intelligence, but shot down the idea of rebranding OpenAI as OpenSI. In general, he has sounded skeptical about the rebrand's usefulness. "I think people are going to keep calling it AI," he [told *Politico*](). **More on AI:** [*Democrats Trying to Get Hold of Trump’s Grok Conversations*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Trump Addresses United Nations to Declare That the United States Is Now Calling Artificial Intelligence “Super Intelligence” in “All Official Documents”]() - [Trump Says No Need to Regulate AI, Since That Strategy Is Working Fine for Climate Change]() - [AI Bros Terrified Singularity Will Hit While Trump Is President]() - [Tech Stocks Are Collapsing After Trump’s Disastrous Tariff Stunt]() - [Elon Musk Warns Chinese Leaders That AI Could Take Over the Country]() - [Fiverr Told Its Employees to Embrace AI, Then Stabbed Them in the Back]() - [Donald Trump Snubs Elon Musk Yet Again, Invites All of His Biggest Competitors to the White House]() - [Poll Finds Overwhelming Majority Disgusted by Trump’s Relationship With AI Industry, Saying He’s Using the Tech to Tear Down Democracy]()