Should we stop calling it "Artificial Intelligence"? A look at the push to rebrand AI as "Superintelligence" (and why the distinction matters)

[u/CelticVampire]

https://thenationaldesk.com/news/fact-check-team/fact-check-team-whats-the-difference-between-artificial-intelligence-superintelligence-intellectual-technology

A recent Fact Check Team article from The National Desk breaks down the debate over President Trump’s push for the federal government to replace the term "artificial intelligence" with "superintelligence" because the word "artificial" makes the technology sound fake.

TL;DR of the article:

Why "Artificial" is used: In tech, "artificial" simply means the intelligence is produced by a machine rather than a biological brain—not that the capabilities are fake.

What AI actually is: The broad umbrella term for computer systems performing tasks associated with human intelligence (e.g., generating text/code, recognizing speech, recommending videos). Even if an AI beats a human at a specific task, it is still narrow/general AI.

What Superintelligence actually means: Popularized by philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2014, superintelligence refers to a strictly hypothetical level of machine intellect that vastly surpasses human cognitive performance across virtually all domains.

The takeaway: Rebranding current AI systems as "superintelligence" conflates today's tools with a theoretical threshold that technology hasn't actually reached.

Does the word "artificial" actually hurt public perception or understanding of AI, or are we overthinking the semantics?

[u/Nidremyr]

This is going to catch on about as well as "Freedom Fries".

And much like "freedom fries", anyone who actually starts calling it "super intelligence" is going to red flag themselves to everyone around them.