President Donald Trump issued an executive order this week declaring that the term artificial intelligence is no longer valid and must be replaced by super intelligence.
The rebranding move
Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and I discussed the meeting on the latest Equity podcast. We remained doubtful that the “Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities” signed by the executives would achieve much. Sean noted the pact is deeply non-binding from a legal perspective. Trump stated he considers it morally binding.
Kirsten suggested the gathering was primarily a rebranding effort. This narrative continued this weekend with Trump announcing a new Super Intelligence Force. The core message was that artificial intelligence is dangerous and will take jobs, but super intelligence is not.
From regulation to dinner
Anthony Ha explained that the official stance is now that it is not artificial intelligence anymore. Trump has hinted at this for some time, but it is now signed into law. If you are an official U.S. representative, you are required to say super intelligence instead.
This announcement coincided with broader safety measures. Just two weeks ago, President Trump claimed the country did not need regulation and that anyone suggesting danger from AI was a Chinese or Democratic plant. Despite this, AI CEOs gathered with him earlier this week to sign the pact.
Kirsten Korosec noted there was significant pushback on regulation. She also pointed out that Anthropic was in trouble just days prior regarding its relationship with the administration. That situation changed when Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, was invited to a 10 p.m. dinner.
Following that sit-down, a luncheon was held attended by almost every major tech power broker. Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk were all present.
Skepticism on the outcome
Sean O’Kane questioned the depth of the relationship repair between the administration and Anthropic. He noted that the Defense Department remains adamant that Anthropic is a national security risk and woke. Emil Michael has criticised Anthropic on X frequently.
He also highlighted a practical error: the group misspelled United States on the agreement they all signed. The document is completely voluntary. Trump’s description of the pact as morally binding represents a level of terminology he had never heard before.
Anthony Ha added that different parts of the White House held different views. The Treasury Secretary seemed supportive, whereas the Defense Department was unhappy with conditions Anthropic proposed for their technology.
It feels like nothing has necessarily changed. Some officials want to use Anthropic’s technology, while others do not. The fact that the gesture was needed seems significant, even if the agreement itself is unlikely to lead to major changes.
What it means
For people making things, the shift is mostly linguistic rather than practical. The administration is telling the industry that the scary, job-stealing version of the technology is over, and a new, safer version called super intelligence has arrived. The pact itself does not change the daily work of developers or artists, but the rebranding attempts to calm fears about the future of the industry.
