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Explainer · Policy and privacy

What "Super Intelligence" means in U.S. government documents

What does "Super Intelligence" mean now that federal agencies are directed to use it in place of "AI"?

Beginner8 min readReviewed Oct 13, 2026

General information, not legal or professional advice. All explainers

How this page was made
  • Researched and written with AI assistance from primary sources, which are listed at the end with the date they were read.
  • Source-checked: a separate AI fact-check pass compared each sentence with its source and corrected what did not match (fact-check report (external site: github.com)).
  • Automated checks passed: links, structure, and formatting are validated before every publish.
  • Not individually reviewed by a person before publication. What these review levels mean

Key takeaways

  • Executive Order 14434, signed September 29, 2026, directs agencies, to the extent the law allows, to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "AI" in their documents.
  • The order defines SI by the legal definition of AI, so in executive-branch documents it is, for now, a new name for the same technology, not a claim that any system beats humans.
  • In earlier research and philosophy, "superintelligence" meant a possible future intellect far smarter than the best humans in nearly every field; check who uses the word, and when.
On this page
  1. What the term means now
  2. What it meant before
  3. Timeline
  4. What has not been confirmed
  5. Why this site is not the government
  6. What you can do next

In the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, "Super Intelligence" (SI) is now the term agencies are directed to use in place of "artificial intelligence" (AI). Executive Order 14434, signed on September 29, 2026, directs executive agencies, to the extent the law allows, to use the new term, and it defines Super Intelligence by the same legal definition that covers AI, so for the order's purposes the new name covers the same technologies rather than a new kind of system. In earlier research and philosophy, "superintelligence" meant something else: a possible future intellect much smarter than the best humans in nearly every field.

This page explains both meanings, gives a dated timeline linked to the original documents, and lists what has been reported but not confirmed by an official source. It is general information, not legal advice.

What the term means now

What the order directs. Executive Order 14434 (external site: govinfo.gov), "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence," sets a policy that the executive branch, "to the maximum extent permitted by law," will use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI." Section 2 applies this to agencies' official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents, and other non-statutory documents. The order's first section adds that the executive branch "will not acknowledge the usage of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' in any applicable setting."

What the new term covers. Section 3 says that, for the order's purposes, "Super Intelligence" and "SI" mean the technologies and systems covered by the definition of "artificial intelligence" in federal law, at 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). That definition, enacted on January 1, 2021, describes "a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments." It says nothing about matching or beating human ability. So in an executive-branch document covered by the order, SI refers, for now, to the same systems that AI did.

What the order does not do.

  • It does not require anyone to change regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants, or other documents issued before it.
  • It does not amend any law. The statutory definition it relies on still uses the words "artificial intelligence," and the U.S. Code chapter that contains it is titled "National Artificial Intelligence Initiative" (2024 edition).
  • Its directions are addressed to executive departments and agencies. Nothing in it directs companies, states, or members of the public to change their wording.
  • It states that it creates no right or benefit that anyone can enforce in court against the government.

The meaning could change. Section 3(b) gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days to send the President proposed legislative language for a federal definition of Super Intelligence that "reflects the capabilities described in section 1 of this order." The proposal is to assess whether that definition should "modify, expand upon, or otherwise supersede" the statutory definition of AI. Sixty days from September 29, 2026, is November 28, 2026. The order says its own definition applies until a later presidential action or an Act of Congress replaces it.

Where you will see it. NIST's "Super intelligence" page says that, per Executive Order 14434, "NIST is working to update its communications to incorporate the term 'super intelligence' as directed." NIST's old address for its AI topic page now redirects to that page. NIST's center page now uses the name Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI); items on that page from September 17, 2026, and earlier use Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), and USASI found no NIST notice saying when or why the name changed. At the White House, an order signed the same day about America.gov (Executive Order 14432) uses "super intelligence," and an October 4, 2026, release about an international science declaration uses "SI."

Spelling is a hint, not a test. The order writes two capitalized words, "Super Intelligence." NIST's pages often use lowercase "super intelligence." Bostrom's paper and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, cited below, write one word, "superintelligence." Company names can use similar words too: xAI's developer documentation now uses the name SpaceXSI, with the heading "Get started with SpaceX Super Intelligence," and the page does not say whether this is related to the order.

What it meant before

Before the order, "superintelligence" was a term from research and philosophy for a possible future intellect far beyond human ability, often discussed as a level that AI might reach.

  • In a paper first published in 1998 in the International Journal of Futures Studies, the philosopher Nick Bostrom defined a superintelligence as "an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field." He listed scientific creativity, general wisdom, and social skills among those fields.
  • The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on the ethics of AI, by Vincent C. Müller (revised March 27, 2026), describes a classic argument that AI could reach systems more intelligent than humans, which it calls superintelligent. It says the idea of an "intelligence explosion" was first set out by I. J. Good, who in 1965 described a machine that could far surpass all the intellectual activities of any person. The entry describes both optimistic and pessimistic views of what would follow.
  • Companies can also use the word for a goal. For example, Safe Superintelligence Inc.'s homepage describes a safe superintelligence as its single goal and its only product.

The difference, plainly.

  • What it names. Under Executive Order 14434 (executive-branch usage since September 29, 2026): the technologies covered by the legal definition of AI. In the older sense: a hypothetical intellect far beyond the best humans across nearly all fields.
  • Whether it must beat people. Under the order: no; the legal definition does not mention human ability. Older sense: yes; exceeding human ability is the point of the word.
  • Who defines it. Under the order: Executive Order 14434, section 3, until a later presidential action or an Act of Congress. Older sense: researchers and writers, in their own work.

The order explains its choice of name in its own words: it says the technologies being pioneered by American innovators "far exceed what was envisioned when the term 'Artificial Intelligence' first came into use" and that, as their capabilities improve, they "increasingly represent not merely artificial intelligence, but a new era of Super Intelligence." That is the order's stated reason for the name. The definition it adopts is still the statutory definition of AI, so "SI" in an executive-branch document does not by itself claim that any system is smarter than people at nearly everything.

Timeline

What has not been confirmed

The items below appeared in news coverage. As of October 13, 2026, USASI found no official page confirming them, so this page does not state them as facts. The catalog's watch list checks official sources for the task force and the accord.

  • A State Department wording instruction. The Associated Press reported on September 23, 2026, that a State Department official emailed staff of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs telling them to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI." As reported, the email was sent on September 22, a week before Executive Order 14434. USASI could not read State Department pages on October 13, 2026, because state.gov refused automated requests.
  • A "Super Intelligence Force." CBS News and ABC News reported on October 4, 2026, that the President announced a task force by this name in a social media post. No whitehouse.gov page or Federal Register document about it was found as of October 13, 2026.
  • A "White House Accord on Super Intelligence." CBS News reported it as a one-page set of voluntary safety standards signed by AI companies. No whitehouse.gov page or Federal Register document about it was found as of October 13, 2026.

Why this site is not the government

USASI (United States of America Superintelligence) is an independent project. It is not a United States government website, and it is not affiliated with the White House, NIST, the State Department, or any other agency. Its name includes "Superintelligence," but it does not speak for the government and is not an official source for the federal term. When this page says what an agency did, it links to that agency's own document so you can read it yourself. See the disclaimer.

What you can do next

Sources

All read on October 13, 2026.

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APA style

USASI. (2026, October 13). What "Super Intelligence" means in U.S. government documents. United States of America Superintelligence. https://unitedstatesofamericasuperintelligence.com/learn/what-super-intelligence-means/

BibTeX

@misc{usasi_learn_what_super_intelligence_means,
  author = {{USASI}},
  title = {What "Super Intelligence" means in U.S. government documents},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  howpublished = {\url{https://unitedstatesofamericasuperintelligence.com/learn/what-super-intelligence-means/}},
  note = {United States of America Superintelligence. Last updated 2026-10-13}
}

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