Trump’s answer to AI’s image problem: Industry self-regulation and a new name
Trump just renamed AI to 'Super Intelligence'—and handed governance to the companies building it. Here's what that means for enterprise regulation.
Why it matters
A new executive order rebrands AI as 'Super Intelligence,' directs the White House to propose a new legal definition in 60 days, and endorses a voluntary industry accord on frontier-model safety with no enforcement mechanism, audit transparency, or regulator oversight. The accord carries signatures from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, and Nvidia but excludes Microsoft and Amazon; it mandates internal controls and independent audits but names no auditors, sets no deadlines, and does not require disclosure of findings.
The key facts
16 to knowExecutive order directs federal government to use 'Super Intelligence' (SI) and 'Super Intelligence' terminology in place of 'AI' and 'AI' in all applicable settings
Executive order definition of SI references existing statutory definition in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3) but directs 60-day deadline (November 28) for White House science/tech adviser to propose new federal definition
White House Accord on Super Intelligence signed by Sundar Pichai (Google), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Greg Brockman (OpenAI), Elon Musk (xAI), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Trump; Microsoft and Amazon absent
Accord mandates four-layer control structure: internal monitoring of model capabilities/alignment (cybersecurity, biosecurity, chemical threats); internal verification team; independent external auditor/evaluator; independent board committee oversight
Accord does not name auditors, set deadlines, or require disclosure of audit findings to customers or regulators
Signatories stated they 'believe each company should implement' controls and that codifying steps into law 'may make sense over time'
Accord uses term 'frontier models' in commitments; only title adopts 'Super Intelligence' terminology mandated by order
Current AI definition in statute applies unless superseded by presidential action or Act of Congress; changing statutory definition requires Congress
Rename covers official correspondence, websites, reports, policy documents; does not alter previously issued regulations, contracts, grants, vendor proposals, solicitation responses, or product documentation
Executive order mandates federal use of 'Super Intelligence' and 'SI' terminology; legal definition unchanged pending 60-day proposal (deadline Nov 28, 2026)
White House Accord signed by Sundar Pichai (Google), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Greg Brockman (OpenAI), Elon Musk (xAI), Jensen Huang (Nvidia); Microsoft and Amazon absent
Accord commits to four-layer control architecture: internal monitoring, internal verification team, independent external auditor, independent board committee—no deadlines, no disclosure requirements, no named auditors
Signatories state each company 'should implement' controls; codifying into law 'may make sense' over time
Accord uses term 'frontier models' but not 'Super Intelligence' in commitments; only title adopts new terminology
For now, rename covers official correspondence, websites, reports; existing regulations, contracts, grants exempt; product documentation not addressed
New definition must assess whether to modify, expand, or supersede statutory AI definition; proposal must include amendments to existing laws referencing AI
Go to the source
Computerworldcomputerworld.com
Publisher excerpt: US President Donald Trump has ordered the federal government to call artificial intelligence “Super Intelligence,” while keeping the technology’s legal definition unchanged and relying on industry to set the rules for its use. In an executive order, the White House administration said modern…