Super by Decree: What "SI" Really Means

In late September, standing before the United Nations General Assembly, the President said the word "artificial" was the problem. "It makes it sound fake," he said, "and it is not fake." A week later, he signed an executive order: as of September 29, 2026, the federal government no longer says "artificial intelligence." It says "Super Intelligence." This week on AI Ascent, Dr. Jonathan Luckett asks the question that follows: if you rename something "super," does it become super?

Here is what the order actually does — and what it doesn't. It is a directive to federal agencies, not a law. Congress didn't vote on it, and the next president can undo it with a single signature. It requires every department and agency to use "SI" in official letters, public communications, websites, reports, and policy documents, and it says the executive branch will not acknowledge "AI." But it doesn't rewrite existing laws or regulations, doesn't change past contracts or grants, and doesn't touch private companies. ChatGPT is still ChatGPT.

The real story is in the definitions. Federal law has defined "artificial intelligence" since 2020 — a definition broad enough to cover a spam filter, a streaming recommendation, and a route-planning app. The new order assigns the name "Super Intelligence" to that exact same definition. Same definition, new label. In this week's episode, Dr. Luckett walks through the three thresholds the AI field actually uses, where today's systems really sit on that ladder, and why the word you choose for the top rung matters when you have to write policy for all of them.

Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/3TjVAsH

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