Trump Says 'AI' Label Will Be Replaced in Federal Documents

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will stop using the term "Artificial Intelligence" in federal documents. In a social media post, he wrote that the abbreviation "AI" is "a very bad and inaccurate name." He directed readers to start using "SI," short for "Super Intelligence." "In short order, we will be officially BANNING the term, 'AI/Artificial Intelligence,' in all relevant documents, and everything else, due to its inaccuracy," Trump wrote.

The post asked when The Wall Street Journal will adopt the new label. Trump claimed that "virtually everyone else" already uses it or will soon. The announcement follows other naming decisions made during his presidency. His administration pushed technology companies to change geographic labels for U.S. audiences. Google and Apple updated their applications to display "Gulf of America" and "Lake of America." The bodies of water remain known as the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario in most other countries.

The Department of Education has also used a different term for the technology. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has referred to it as "A1." No federal register notice or executive order outlining the change had been published as of Wednesday.

The announcement drew criticism from civil liberties groups, who noted that the government cannot prevent private citizens or news organizations from using established terminology. The First Amendment restricts Congress from abridging speech, though it does not apply to private platforms or individuals.

Federal agencies spend billions of dollars on artificial intelligence research and procurement. The National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy fund university programs that train students in machine learning. Renaming the field would require updates to grant solicitations, program names, and public-facing websites across multiple agencies.

Trump's post did not specify which documents would change or when the shift would occur. It did not address contracts already in place with private technology vendors. Companies that build systems described as artificial intelligence have not announced any changes to their product names.