Typos and anger: Why Trump's AI rebrand attempt faces opposition

California's Governor Gavin Newsom is rebuking President Donald Trump's decision to refer to AI as "super intelligence." Newsom posted on X, stating that he has signed an executive order officially declaring "Artificial Intelligence" as the official term for AI in the state. This rebranding effort by Trump has been met with confusion and ridicule.

Trump's campaign to promote AI began in mid-September when he suggested using "super intelligence" instead of the term "artificial intelligence." He reiterated the request during his speech at the UN General Assembly and a subsequent White House meeting. However, the attempts to rebrand AI seem to be generating more confusion than clarity.

Misspellings and incorrect usage of the term have further contributed to the controversy. A recent executive order signed by Trump to change the technology's name contained a misspelling of "United States." Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also found himself correcting himself while referring to AI instead of the proposed "SI."

AI research has a long history, and established phrases are already in use. Experts have been using "AI superintelligence" to refer to hypothetical technologies that could perform advanced cognitive functions and reasoning skills similar to humans. However, Trump's rebranding has received some support. Neil Chilson, former chief technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, pointed out that the scientist who coined the term "artificial intelligence" also expressed regret for the name and didn't have the ability to change it.

Despite the opposition to Trump's rebranding, recent polls show that the public is skeptical and worried about AI's potential to do harm. A Quinnipiac poll found that nearly eight out of 10 voters favor safety over the race to dominate AI development, and 73% oppose building AI data centers in their communities.