Seventy years ago, a group of scientists convened at Dartmouth College to discuss the lofty idea of machines replicating human thought processes. One of them, John McCarthy, suggested a name that stuck: artificial intelligence. Now, President Trump has decided to change that term, not for its scientific accuracy but for his political whims.

At a recent White House lunch, the president issued an executive order, decreeing that the term ‘artificial intelligence’ was henceforth to be known as ‘super intelligence.’ The lords of AI, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk, meekly agreed, reinforcing their loyalty to the Orange One. However, the question remains: what does this name change mean for humanity's future?

From a scientific perspective, the change is nonsensical. Nick Bostrom, the philosopher who popularized the term ‘superintelligence’ in his eponymous book, is baffled by the idea. He explains that ‘AI’ covers a much broader category of systems, from simple navigation systems to early LLMs, that do not warrant the label ‘superintelligent.’ The term change, therefore, seems more about political posturing than scientific precision.

Truly, what is fake is the notion that a simple word change can alter the fundamental nature of the technology. Nevertheless, this episode is a stark reminder of the power of those in authority to influence the discourse surrounding emerging technologies. As President Trump continues his campaign to rename everything, one can only hope that the next administration will see sense and return to the original term.