The U.S. Justice Department instructed employees not to use the term "artificial intelligence" in official correspondence and documents submitted to courts, and instead to use "superintelligence" or "SI."
In an internal memo sent to staff by Acting Associate Attorney General Trent McCotter, the department said the federal government’s terminology should reflect the transformative capacity of advanced technologies developed by American innovators.
Order covers federal agencies
The change at the Justice Department is based on the executive order titled "Launching the Age of Superintelligence," signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 29. The order calls for federal agencies to use the new terminology in their official duties to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The directive also covers documents submitted to courts by attorneys. Staff were asked to use the terms "superintelligence" or "SI" in legal filings where appropriate.
Change limited to federal terminology
The regulation does not change the global definition of artificial intelligence. The change applies only to the terminology used in correspondence, policy reports, websites and legal documents of the U.S. federal government.
Trump had previously called for the same change on federal websites, in policy reports and in official communications. Trump argued that the word "artificial" makes technological systems appear to be fake.