On 29 September Donald Trump signed an executive order telling the US federal government to say “Super Intelligence” (SI) where it used to say “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). If you run a business in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, nothing changes: the order only binds US federal agencies, European law still says artificial intelligence, and you don’t need to touch your website, contracts or copy.
Here is what the order actually says, why it has caused so much controversy, what is still undecided and why thousands of people are suddenly buying .si domains.
What the super intelligence order says
It is Executive Order 14434, “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence”, published in the Federal Register on 2 October. It asks executive departments and agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports and policy documents, “to the maximum extent permitted by law”.
The order sets its own limits. It does not require changes to existing regulations, contracts, grants or historical documents. Nor does it change what counts as AI: “SI” covers exactly what the existing US legal definition of artificial intelligence covers (15 U.S.C. 9401(3)).
The definition is what stays open. Within 60 days, so around 28 November, the White House science adviser must send the President proposed legislative language for a new federal definition of “Super Intelligence”. Turning that into law would need an Act of Congress.
The official name is “Super Intelligence”. The polls Trump posted on social media included other options such as “superior intelligence” and “supreme intelligence”, according to Poynter, but the order uses only “Super Intelligence”.
The White House announced it on X. David Sacks, the administration’s AI and crypto lead, welcomed it, and Elon Musk is already using the new name:
Why it is controversial
It comes amid low public confidence on this issue: a Quinnipiac poll released on 29 September found 25% approve of his handling of AI and 58% disapprove, CNBC reported. Democratic Senator Mark Warner put it this way: “changing what we call artificial intelligence does nothing to address the very real risks that come with increasingly powerful AI systems.”
The other objection is about vocabulary. In the industry, “superintelligence” already meant something: AI that outperforms people at almost everything, which does not exist today. The term goes back to Nick Bostrom, who used it in 1998. Poynter quotes Syracuse University professor Baobao Zhang, who warns that muddled definitions make the technology harder to regulate. On X, two well-known voices in the field were critical, researcher Gary Marcus and developer Simon Willison:
More is circulating, such as a so-called “Super Intelligence Force” or a link to Melania Trump, who was born in Slovenia. These are unconfirmed rumours and don’t change what the order says.
What changes in Spain and Europe
Nothing. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act still says “artificial intelligence”, and your business’s obligations come from that text, not from White House wording. More concrete things deserve your attention, such as the AI agents visiting your website. There is no reason to swap “AI” for “SI” on your website either: your customers search for and understand “AI”.
If you work with the US federal government, you will see “SI” in its documents and websites. Contracts you have already signed don’t change, because the order excludes them.
The .si domain rush
.si is Slovenia’s country domain, and the same two letters now mean something else in Washington. The Slovenian registry, Register.si, counted 46,066 new registrations in September and a daily record of 21,756 on 5 October. Its spokeswoman, Klara Herman, told the BBC that August brought fewer than 2,000 and that 30 September alone, the day after the order, brought 11,000. She called the activity “unprecedented”, though she was cautious about putting the whole rise down to Trump. Anyone can register a .si: since 2008 they have been open to individuals from Slovenia and abroad, and the general terms set no nationality or residence requirement.
Much of it is speculation. The Next Web reports that more than half of the .si names bought early through the registrar Dynadot are already up for resale, and that at Hostinger only about 3% of the names are about AI. At Hostinger, a .si costs $11.99 for the first year and $16.99 to renew, against about $90 for a .ai, which also needs a two-year commitment.
We own chatea.si, so we know the domain up close. Our view: a .si can make sense when the name fits your brand, which in Spanish it often does (“sí” means yes, so chatea.si reads as “chat, yes”). Buying one because the acronym is fashionable in the US is a bet, and nothing guarantees the interest will last.
What your business needs to do
Nothing because of the order. If it has made you wonder whether your website and chatbot explain your AI work well and are still up to date, that is what our one-off review for €150 is for: one concrete delivery, no commitment. If you would rather talk first, get in touch.