Gavin Newsom orders California firms to keep 'AI' name unchanged after Trump's 'superintelligence' decree

California Governor Gavin Newsom has responded to President Donald Trump's directive to replace the term "artificial intelligence" with "superintelligence" by signing an executive order Thursday. The order directs California state agencies to continue using the standard term "artificial intelligence" or "AI" in all official communications, despite any changes in terminology by the federal government.The governor emphasized that his order aims to maintain consistency and clarity in referring to AI technologies within the state, regardless of federal actions.

"I just signed an executive order permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence 'Artificial Intelligence' in California. You're welcome, America," Newsom stated on X.The order comes in response to Trump's "superintelligence" initiative, which he argued is not a true form of artificial intelligence. Newsom highlighted California's leadership in AI development and criticized the federal government's lack of action on AI safety and security concerns.

He also noted his intention to push for more federal leadership on the issue, possibly through a special legislative session.Newsom's executive order follows a recent meeting between Trump and several prominent tech executives, including Sundar Pichai, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg, Greg Brockman, and Jensen Huang. During the meeting, the executives signed the "White House Accord on Super Intelligence," which encourages AI companies to monitor their models' capabilities and establish internal teams to prevent unintended AI hacks.The document, however, contained a typo under Trump's signature, where "United States" was misspelled as "Unites States."

Despite this minor error, the meeting aimed to promote responsible AI development practices among major tech companies.