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Trump signs order to call AI "Super Intelligence"; accord signature line misspelled

After a White House lunch with tech leaders on 29 September, Trump signed an order telling federal agencies to say "Super Intelligence" instead of AI, alongside a voluntary industry safety accord whose signature line misspells "United States".

17 outlets · 6L · 7C · 4R First reported Account updated

Updated (version 8). New coverage since the last version from Breitbart, Computerworld, National Post, TechCrunch, The Guardian. Previously: “Trump signs order directing federal agencies to say "Super Intelligence" instead of AI”.

Image: NBC News
Image: Deadline
Image: Just the News
Image: Newsweek
Image: The Independent
Image: Deutsche Welle
Image: The Verge
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

On Tuesday 29 September, Trump told reporters he would sign a document at about 5 p.m. renaming artificial intelligence, "because it's not artificial". He spoke beside executives including Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg after hosting a White House lunch on AI. Just the News and The Verge report that he then signed the executive order.

The order says the executive branch shall use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of the old terms to the extent the law permits, and that the new term better captures the technology's promise. It does not change the legal definition: Computerworld says the White House has 60 days, to 28 November, to propose a new one, and changing the statutory definition would need Congress; previous regulations need not be altered. Trump said the executives had agreed to a "self-policing" arrangement he called "morally binding", and pointed to the Justice Department and FBI as existing regulators.

The resulting "Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities", signed by Trump and six company heads, sets out four layers of controls and audits; Newsweek notes nothing in it says it is legally binding, and Computerworld says it names no auditors or deadlines. On Wednesday, outlets reported that the signature line reads "President of the Unites States", which drew online mockery; the Guardian says it is unclear how it happened, and Washington Examiner says the White House posted the error twice. Commentators doubt the term will catch on; a University of Chicago marketing professor told Newsweek it is unlikely to be adopted soon.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left6 outlets

Framing
Mixes critique of the trust-the-industry message with ridicule of the typo.
Emphasis
The spelling error, online mockery, public scepticism of AI.
Leaves out or plays down
Less on the order's legal limits.
Charged language
“'truly stupid' spelling mistake”“Criminal plot”
For example
“Trump renames AI to ‘super intelligence’ and tells Americans they have no choice but to trust it” — The Independent
“Donald Trump's latest spelling blunder attracted ridicule online” — Daily Mirror

Centre7 outlets

Framing
Explanatory: what the order does, what the accord commits to, and whether the name will stick.
Emphasis
Order's scope, 60-day definition review, voluntary nature of the accord.
Leaves out or plays down
Little on partisan reaction.
Charged language
“rebrand”
For example
“while keeping the technology’s legal definition unchanged and relying on industry to set the rules for its use” — Computerworld
“Donald Trump stood with top tech CEOs and pitched a rebrand.” — Deadline

Right4 outlets

Framing
Reports the announcement and order largely as stated; later coverage notes the typo without ridicule.
Emphasis
Trump's quotes, order text, the China lead.
Leaves out or plays down
Little on critics' scepticism of the rename.
For example
“The renaming only officially affects the executive branch” — Just the News
“The Trump administration misspelled the United States twice in images of the White House artificial intelligence memo” — Washington Examiner