The State Department has instructed diplomats in its Bureau of International Organization Affairs to replace references to “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence” in all communications, following President Donald Trump’s remarks at the UN General Assembly this week.
Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the bureau, sent an email to employees on Tuesday directing them to use “super intelligence” and the abbreviation “SI” in documents, official positions, remarks and press material going forward.
The email, titled “Change in Nomenclature AI to SI,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether similar instructions had been issued to other State Department bureaus.
The Bureau of International Organization Affairs oversees US diplomatic missions to the United Nations and other multilateral organisations around the world.
Trump said during his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that he would “officially” change the name of artificial intelligence, arguing that the word “artificial” made the technology sound fake.
“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump said. He said US government documents would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence”.
Drager’s email was sent shortly after Trump’s speech. It remained unclear whether similar directives had been issued by other US government agencies.
The change could also affect the name of the “AI Force” that Trump announced over the weekend, potentially leading to it being referred to as the “SI Force”.
US representatives used the term “SI” on Wednesday during a UN Security Council meeting on artificial intelligence, where technology executives called on the UN’s most powerful body to address the development of the technology.
The rapid development of AI has prompted warnings from technology executives, lawmakers and others about the possibility of the technology advancing beyond humans’ ability to control it. These concerns have also led to calls for international safeguards.
Trump has opposed efforts to slow the development of AI through increased government oversight, saying such measures could hinder the industry and that the US needs to maintain an advantage over China.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump claimed that the US was ahead of China in AI and said he would not “stifle Growth” in a technology he described as potentially bigger than the Industrial Revolution or the internet. (with inputs from Associated Press)
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