Report: US Justice Department Adopts “Super Intelligence” Term

By Staff, Agencies

The US Justice Department has instructed its personnel to replace the term “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence” in official communications and legal documents, Bloomberg Law reported Tuesday.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter outlined the directive in an internal memorandum, arguing that federal terminology should reflect the rapid development and capabilities of advanced technologies being developed by US companies.

“Terminology used by the Federal Government should reflect the transformative capabilities of extraordinary technologies being pioneered by American innovators,” McCotter wrote in the memo circulated to department staff.

The policy follows a September 29 executive order issued by US President Donald Trump titled “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence.” The order directs federal agencies to use the new terminology “to the maximum extent permitted by law” in their official activities.

Under the Justice Department guidance, the terminology change also extends to legal proceedings and attorney filings. Department personnel are instructed to use “super intelligence” or the abbreviation “SI” in court documents where appropriate.

The directive represents an internal terminology policy within the US government rather than a broader change to the established meaning or usage of artificial intelligence worldwide.

The Trump administration had previously directed federal agencies to adopt the terminology across government websites, policy documents and official communications.

Trump has argued that describing the technology as “artificial” can make advanced technological systems appear less authentic or capable than they actually are.

The Justice Department’s latest directive therefore formalizes the terminology shift within one of the federal government’s major legal institutions, extending the administration’s preferred language into official communications and court filings.