The short answer: Federal agencies now call AI "super intelligence," and a new Super Intelligence Force led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton has 120 days to report on AI's risks and opportunities. The name change is mostly PR, but small business owners should learn the term, use both words for a while, and watch for the task force report around early February 2027.

Last week the President signed an executive order telling federal agencies to stop saying "artificial intelligence" and start saying "super intelligence." On Sunday he followed it up by announcing a new Super Intelligence Force.

My first reaction was simple. Here we go again. The Gulf of Mexico became the Gulf of America, and now AI gets a new name tag. It's a PR stunt.

I still think that. I also think small business owners can't afford to roll their eyes and move on, and I'll explain why.

What actually happened

Here is the news without the spin.

  • The name change. Federal agencies are directed to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" instead of "AI" in official communications, as far as the law allows. The legal definition of AI stays the same for now. The White House science adviser has 60 days to propose a legal definition of "Super Intelligence."
  • The task force. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton chairs it, which makes him the new AI czar. The vice chairs are FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Undersecretary of War Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor.
  • The assignment. The group reportedly has 120 days to deliver a report on the risks and opportunities of AI. Its charter talks about planning for AI-enabled threats while avoiding overregulation that would slow innovation and competition.
  • The mindset. Clayton has said one of the biggest risks is "not being first," and he opposes any pause in AI development.

Why rename it at all?

The only thing a new name does right now is cause confusion. Same tools, same technology, two words for it.

So why bother? My read is that this is about removing the scary. For forty years "AI" has carried Hollywood baggage. Say it to most people over 40 and somebody brings up Skynet. "Super intelligence" sounds like a product upgrade. It sounds like something you want on your side.

I don't think the new term makes AI scarier. I think it was picked to do the opposite.

Speed is good. Guardrails are better.

I understand the argument for speed. Nobody wants to fall behind China on the most important technology of our lifetime.

But there needs to be a balance. We are racing a country many believe let COVID slip out of a lab. If we're worried about what they build, the answer is better guardrails on both sides of the race, and a plan for what happens when something gets loose. What's next, infected AI?

Being first matters. Being first with no brakes is how you end up first to the crash.

Leadership needs oversight

Look at who's running this task force: the intelligence chief, the FTC chair, a Pentagon official, and the head of the federal HR office. Those are serious people. None of them come from the small business world, and none of them build these tools.

The point of government is to govern. That means somebody has to lead, and I'm glad someone is in charge. Leadership is key, but always with oversight. A 120-day report written by a group whose chairman says the biggest risk is losing the race should get a hard look from Congress, from industry, and from the people who will live with the results.

That report should land around early February 2027. Put it on your calendar.

I've built this translation table before

Years ago, Cox Communications merged its regional call centers into three large centers. Every region had its own names for things and its own way of doing them. Suddenly I was taking calls from all over, and customers and coworkers were using words that meant nothing in our area.

So I built a spreadsheet. One column for where the call came from, one for what they called it, one for what it meant to us.

Nobody had to love the new terms. We just had to understand each other so we could do the job.

That's where small business owners are right now. Washington has a new word for the tools you already use. Your clients will see it in the news, your vendors will start putting it in their marketing, and government forms and contracts will use it. If you don't know that SI means AI, you'll be the one confused in the meeting.

What to do with this

  1. Learn the term. Laughable or not, it's out there. Super intelligence, SI, and AI all point to the same tools, like Claude, that you may already be using.
  2. Build your own translation table. If you write proposals, bid on government work, or explain AI to clients, use both terms for a while so nobody gets lost.
  3. Don't let the new name change your judgment. A friendlier name doesn't make a tool safer. Keep checking what AI writes for you, protect your customers' data, and stay the human in charge.
  4. Watch for the February report. That's where real rules, money, or mandates could show up.

Call it AI. Call it SI. Call it whatever you want. The work is the same, and so is the responsibility that comes with it.

What do you think? Smart move, PR stunt, or both?

John M Pogue is the founder of Pogue Digital Solutions, LLC, helping small businesses put AI to work in their own voice.

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