Writing · AI and human responsibility
AI or Super Intelligence? Authority Still Can't Be Automated
By Richard K. Marshall · Originally published · Updated
Call it AI. Call it SI. The name changed. The rule didn't.
The rename
On September 22, 2026, President Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that U.S. government documents would stop calling it artificial intelligence. From now on, it's super intelligence, or SI.
He said the word "artificial" makes the technology sound fake. It isn't fake, he said. It's amazing.
What "super intelligence" already meant
The term had a meaning before the speech. In AI research, super intelligence describes a hypothetical system that outperforms humans across almost every domain. Nick Bostrom popularized it in his 2014 book.
That isn't the same thing as today's large language models. It's one reason industry coverage has been skeptical that the rebrand will stick.
What it means for search
The rename raised an immediate question for anyone doing SEO or AEO: switch keywords, or stay put?
Neither extreme. Use both, and keep "artificial intelligence" as the primary phrase.
Search behavior hasn't flipped overnight. People still type "AI" and "artificial intelligence." Federal documents and some policy coverage will use the new term. Most buyers, journalists and operators haven't.
Ignore the rename and you miss government and policy traffic. Optimize only for "super intelligence" and you miss the volume still sitting on the older phrase.
The practical play is a neutral explainer:
- Keep "artificial intelligence" in the title and main heading.
- Put "super intelligence" in the first paragraph and in one or two subheads.
- Date the UN speech so the page can rank for the news.
- Add a short section on why the phrase is polarizing.
- Close by recommending both terms.
That stays credible to readers who like the change and readers who reject it. You stay current and neutral, and you don't have to wait for the naming war to end.
What a new name doesn't change
Whatever we call it, one thing doesn't move:
Artificial intelligence may assist human decision-making, but responsibility always remains with humans. Authority cannot be automated.
Swap "artificial" for "super" and the sentence still holds. If anything, it matters more.
The more capable the system, the clearer the human authority over it has to be. A tool that can do more can do more damage on your behalf. "Super" raises the stakes. It doesn't move the responsibility.
Satya Nadella made the same point in his October 10, 2026 essay on X, "Models as Insider Risks in the Super Intelligence Era":
"We simply can't outsource responsibility for what intelligence does on our behalf."
And:
"we need to separate the supply of intelligence from the authority over it."
That's the line. Intelligence can come from a model, a vendor or a lab. Authority comes from a named human who can be held responsible.
Today
Pick one AI system your business already uses. Write down what it's allowed to do on its own, and the name of the person who answers for it.
Call it AI or SI. If no human owns it, nobody's in charge.
— Richard K. Marshall Marshall Intelligence · Lexington, Kentucky
Originally published on X: https://x.com/RichMarshall/status/2103184433704517914 · . Refreshed .