A month after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to replace the term artificial intelligence with super intelligence, two of his closest allies in the technology sector have adopted the new terminology during their third-quarter earnings calls. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg aligned their language with the administration's push, while other major tech CEOs remained less eager to make the switch.
Trump issued the directive on September 29 during an AI luncheon at the White House aimed at fostering U.S. growth in the sector with limited regulations. He recently reinforced this stance on Truth Social, announcing a ban on the use of AI or artificial intelligence in all relevant documents and communications. Musk was among the first to comply; earlier in October, he renamed his rocket company's division to SpaceXSI. During Tesla's earnings call last week, while discussing humanoid robots, Musk noted that some models were impressive but did not utilize advanced AI or SI.
Mark Zuckerberg similarly adhered to the new terminology during Meta's earnings call on October 21, stating the company's goal is delivering personal superintelligence to everyone. This shift was less drastic for Meta, as the company had already established a unit called Meta Superintelligence Labs the previous year. Both executives are known as fierce supporters of the Trump administration, having contributed to inauguration festivities and supported the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs opposed by the president.
Despite this alignment from Musk and Zuckerberg, other tech giants have largely retained the AI acronym in their recent financial disclosures. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy used the term over a dozen times during his introductory remarks on Thursday. Similarly, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted designing AI to empower people as a key focus, while Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai immediately cited AI investments driving user growth at the start of his commentary.
The rebranding effort coincides with midterm elections next week, where the Republican Party faces potential losses in both the House and Senate. Trump's approval ratings have declined, with economic approval hitting an all-time low according to a recent CNBC survey. Nevertheless, the term super intelligence is appearing in other corporate documents. Microsoft's annual report filed last week included eight mentions of the phrase, with Nadella writing about entering a Super Intelligence era.
Other leaders are adopting a hybrid approach or showing explicit support for the new terminology. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna used both SI and AI during his earnings call, describing technology innovation in super intelligence as a driver for business performance. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan attributed current supply shortages to unprecedented demand for super intelligence. Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora praised the White House meeting on SI on social media, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang lauded the White House Accord on Super Intelligence, calling it an opportunity to advance productivity and security.
Sources: CNBC Markets.