President Donald Trump asked followers on Truth Social to vote on renaming "artificial intelligence," suggesting "superior," "extreme" or "supreme intelligence," with nearly 30,000 votes cast within an hour and "superior intelligence" leading. The move comes amid heated debate over whether to pause frontier AI development for safety and regulatory reasons — a proposal backed by Anthropic's Dario Amodei and warned about by other AI leaders. Trump opposes mandated slowdowns, arguing restrictions would cede advantage to China and dismissing catastrophe warnings as conspiratorial. Recent Pew and Politico polls show growing public concern about AI, especially among younger adults.
Trump Asks Followers To Rename “Artificial Intelligence,” Proposes “Superior,” “Extreme” Or “Supreme Intelligence”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while aboard Air Force One on Sept. 13, 2026.
President Donald Trump asked his Truth Social followers to vote on a new name for "artificial intelligence," proposing three alternatives he described as "far more elegant and accurate." The options — "superior intelligence," "extreme intelligence" and "supreme intelligence" — drew nearly 30,000 votes within an hour, with "superior intelligence" leading at about 42% as of 1 p.m. Saturday.
Photo caption: U.S. President Donald Trump speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sept. 13, 2026.
Trump, who has opposed recent calls to pause or slow the rapid development of large AI models, framed the term "artificial intelligence" as "inaccurate, and very ineloquent" in his Truth Social post and invited his followers to pick a new label.
He has frequently sought to reshape public language — popularizing labels such as "fake news" and "deep state" in past years — and this naming effort follows heightened debate over AI safety and regulation.
Where This Fits In The Broader AI Debate
The naming post comes amid a public and industry debate over whether the pace of frontier AI development should be intentionally slowed until stronger regulatory frameworks and safety testing are in place. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently urged a deliberate pause on the most advanced model development to give lawmakers time to catch up. Other prominent AI leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk, have expressed concerns that models are advancing faster than society's ability to align and control them safely.
Trump has sided with figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and PCAST co-chair David Sacks in opposing mandated pauses, arguing that enforced slowdowns would amount to self-sabotage by U.S. labs and hand an advantage to Chinese competitors. He dismissed public warnings of AI-driven catastrophe as a "HOAX" and a "SICK conspiracy," writing on Truth Social that "WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!"
"We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!" — Donald Trump, Truth Social
Public Opinion And Polling
Public sentiment about AI remains mixed. A Pew Research survey across roughly three dozen countries found that in many places people are split between excitement and concern, or are more worried than excited. In Australia, the United States, Brazil and Canada, at least half of respondents said they were more worried than excited about AI. Pew also reported that younger adults (ages 18–34) are more aware of AI and have grown more concerned about it — in the U.S. that group’s share of people who are more concerned than excited rose from 40% in 2024 to 55%.
Separately, a Politico poll cited in recent coverage found that 63% of Americans think AI poses at least a moderate risk of potentially destroying humanity.
This naming push is as much rhetorical as substantive: while renaming might shape perception, the broader policy discussion centers on safety, regulation and international competition in AI development.
Related coverage: Anthropic CEO Calls For Slowing Frontier AI Development; Industry Figures Debate U.S. Regulation; Polls Show Rising Public Concern.
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